Death Rate

The death rate is one of the four core performance indicators of malnutrition treatment programs. It represents the proportion of discharged children who died from any cause while registered in the program.

Divide the number of children who died while registered in the treatment program by the total number of discharged children and multiply the result by 100. The resulting number is the death rate (in percentages). 

Disaggregate the data by gender, geographic area, and age groups.

1) The indicator does not require a separate survey – all data can be gained from the treatment program’s regular records.

2) According to the Sphere Standards, in the case of severe acute malnutrition (SAM), a death rate of less than 10% is perceived as “acceptable” (note: in practice, the death rate in many programs is less than 5%). In the case of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), the threshold is 3%.  

3) The four core performance indicators of an malnutrition treatment program (esp. the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition, CMAM) are recovery rate, death rate, default rate and non-recovery rate.