Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD)
Indicator Phrasing
English: % of children 6–23 months of age who received a Minimum Acceptable Diet the previous day and night
French: % d'enfants de 6 à 23 mois ayant reçu un Apport Alimentaire Minimum Acceptable le jour et la nuit précédents
Portuguese: % de crianças entre 6 - 23 meses de idade que receberam uma dieta mínima aceitável no dia e noite anteriores
Czech: % dětí ve věku 6-23 měsíců, které v uplynulém dni a noci konzumovaly Minimální přijatelnou stravu
What is its purpose?
The indicator assesses the acceptability of a child's diet based on its micronutrient adequacy and meal frequency.
How to Collect and Analyse the Required Data
Any child whose diet meets the Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) and the Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF) is considered to have a Minimum Acceptable Diet. For calculation of these two sub-indicators, please see guidance on MDD and MMF.
Calculate the indicator's value by dividing the number of children aged 6-23.99 months who consumed the Minimum Acceptable Diet (as defined above) by the total number of surveyed children aged 6-23.99 months (except those where "does not know" answer was provided) and multiplying the result by 100.
Disaggregate by
Disaggregate the data by gender, age groups, and wealth.
Important Comments
Access Additional Guidance
- WHO (2008) Indicators for Assessing IYCF Practices Part 1: Definitions (English version) (.pdf)
- WHO (2008) Indicators for Assessing IYCF Practices Part 1: Definitions (French version) (.pdf)
- WHO (2010) Indicators for Assessing IYCF Practices Part 2: Measurement (French version) (.pdf)
- WHO (2010) Indicators for Assessing IYCF Practices Part 2: Measurement (English version) (.pdf)
- unknown author (0) Brief Guidance to MAD (.pdf)
- ECHO (2016) List of Key Outcome Indicators (KOI) (.pdf)
- ECHO (2016) List of Key Outcome Indicators (KOI) - French version (.pdf)