Programme coverage is one of the most useful and reliable indicators for measuring the performance of CMAM programmes.

The effectiveness of CMAM programme and the coverage it achieves are strongly linked. An effective CMAM programme will tend to achieve good coverage and a programme with good coverage is expected to be an effective programme. Maximizing coverage therefore is likely to improve effectiveness and met need.

Even if a programme is achieving good clinical outcomes (high cure rates and low death rates), ultimate impact is diminished if it only achieves low levels of coverage.

Coverage assessment methods set out to measure the "treatment" coverage of CMAM programmes; i.e. at the time of the assessment, the percentage of severely or moderately acutely malnourished children in a defined area (eg a health district or region) who are successfully enrolled in the programme.

Learn more about the different coverage assessment methods, the outputs they yield and the resources they require here.