Dear Anonymous 3035:

There are several websites which may answer your questions about indicators of global acute malnutrition and sample size. See:
http://conflict.lshtm.ac.uk/
http://www.unscn.org/en/resource_portal/index.php?&themes=201&resource=602
http://nutritioncluster.net/trainings/
There are also several excellent texbooks on general epidemiology, survey methods, and statistics which provide guidance on sample size calculations and several website which can do the calculation for you. A quick Google search on "calculate sample size" will bring them up.

The Objective of your assessment should be able to guide you in terms of the methodology. SMART would be sufficient for this, you only need to revisit the additional variables in terms priority and need.

Thanks for comments, which was very helpful. If an a scenario where a population is almost 1 lack individuals. if we are going to conduct just a rapid MUAC Assessment. what will be the sample size of children.???

Dear Anonymous 3035:

The sample size depends on:
1. The desired precision, in your case, how narrow you want the confidence intervals around you estimate of the prevalence of low MUAC.
2. The assumed prevalence of low MUAC - the sample size is highest at 50%.
3. The assumed affect on precision of your sampling scheme. Cluster sampling results in poorer precision than simple or systematic random sampling. This is indicated by the design effect.

The sample size does NOT depend on the size of the population from which you are selecting the sample. Therefore, you do not need to know this to calculate sample size. Using any of the many web-based sample size calculators, input your desired 1/2 confidence interval, prevalence of low MUAC, and assumed design effect to derive the minimum sample size needed.

There has been work we have done linking nutrition and food security. Its possible to have the integrated assessment, what is most important is to determine the unit of sampling and the precision levels needed in the sample. It is also important to agree on the objectives of the integrated assessment with the concerned stakeholders. Importantly as well in integrated assessments is that they are not replacing Sector assessments, hence there is need to be modest on the indicators and questions that should be included in the questionnaires from different sectors, to make it manageable.

I will forward the Protocols that we have developed for joint assessments for food security and nutrition and have now piloted these in 4 countries and it does work