Dire Dawa council lies in the eastern part of Ethiopia, on the Dechatu River. The town is divided administratively into two woredas, the town proper and the non-urban woreda of Gurgura.
The main purpose of the assessment was to assess the degree to which economic constraints might prevent households in Dire Dawa town from having access to a nutritious diet.
The data collection and analysis set out to answer the following questions:
- What is the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet for typical households in Dire Dawa town?
- What nutrients have the greatest influence on the cost of a nutritious diet?
- What local foods are inexpensive sources of essential micronutrients and could be promoted through program interventions?
- How affordable is a nutritious diet for a typical household in different wealth groups?
- How might nutrition, food security and social protection interventions improve access to a nutritious diet by households in the assessment area?
In addition, the Cost of the Diet software was used to assess the potential impact of common infant feeding practices on cost, quality and composition of a nutritious diet of a child aged 12-23 months.