Food and nutrition surveillance: a methodology for use in small developing Caribbean territories, part 1 - a methodological approach to surveillance

ABSTRACT

Food and Nutrition Surveillance implies the continuous monitoring of factors relating to food supply, food demand and marketing, food consumption and the ensuing nutritional status of the population. By monitoring data at key points in the food chain, it should be possible to achieve an 'early warning system' of changes likely to affect the vulnerable (and marginal) groups within the community. This paper describes an attempt to produce a methodology for food and nutrition surveillance appropriate to small developing economies in the Commonwealth Caribbean. It introduces the concepts used to develop a pilot surveillance system in the East Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis