# of primary caregivers counselled on Infant and Young Child Feeding

This indicator tracks how many primary caregivers of infants and young children had one or more IYCF counselling contacts with a trained frontline worker supported by – or working for – Save the Children.

• Primary caregiver: the person who is principally looking after a child at a given point in time and meets their physical needs more than anyone else. Although in most cases the primary caregiver is the child’s birth mother, this term also includes adoptive/foster mothers, carers working in institutions such as orphanages, temporary carers (e.g., in Ebola treatment centre nurseries), etc., and can also include fathers and other family members acting as the child’s primary caregiver.
• Infant: A child aged 0-11 completed months (0 -< 12m / 0 - < 1 year)
• Young Child: A child from the age of 12 months up to the age of 23 completed months (12 - <24m / 1 - < 2 years)
• IYCF Counselling: A two-way interaction between a trained IYCF counsellor and one or more pregnant women, mothers, or other caregivers of children (most typically) under two years of age. The process involves assessment, analysis, and action to help the caregiver decide on what is best for themselves and their child in their situation with regard to Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) and care practices. Includes face-to-face or remote, one-to-one or group counselling. Counselling is different from education and messaging. 

Calculation: Sum of all caregivers registered has have been counselled at least once within the reporting period. 

Suggested Data Collection Method/Tool:  Counselling register

Data Source: Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) counseling records, Facility Records / IMPACT (DHIS2)

Who Collects: Facility Personnel / Counsellors

From Whom: Caregivers

Frequency of Collection: Daily / Weekly
Frequency of Reporting: Monthly or Aligned with donor reporting requirements

How to Count/Aggregate Value: Reporting should be incremental. IYCF counselling can take place over multiple reporting periods (e.g., weekly or monthly counselling contact). Count only caregivers counselled for the first time within the reporting period (i.e., first counselling contact) to avoid double-counting.

Important note about disaggregation: The indicator is disaggregated by age of caregiver AND by age of the child under their care. If the primary caregiver has more than one child between 0 and 2 years old and if the children are spread between several age categories, then this should be reported only once under the category "Caregiver with children of various age ranges". The primary unit is the number of caregivers. Caregivers should be counted only once, even if they have more than one child in their care.