From Plans to Budgets: Driving Food Security and Nutrition Accountability in Benin’s Local Government

In Benin, 36.5% of children under five are stunted – chronically malnourished to the point where it affects their growth and development (MICS 2021–22). This exceeds both the West Africa average of 31.3% and WHO’s 30% ‘very high’ public health concern threshold and has risen from 32% in 2017–18. As of November 2025, about 191,000 people were facing crisis-level food insecurity (IPC Phase 3), and 83% of households could not afford a healthy and diverse diet. The situation is worse in the northern part of the country, where screening data generally show higher rates of acute malnutrition and stunting.

The challenge in Benin is not the absence of nutrition policy. National commitments exist, and data on malnutrition is available at the national and departmental levels – but not consistently at the commune level where plans and budgets are made. What has been systematically missing is a method for checking whether nutrition commitments are reflected in the local development plans and budgets that direct public spending. Without a clear way to check whether a plan addresses nutrition — or whether the budget funds it – there is no basis for accountability or for tracking whether commitments are met.

CASCADE’s response, working with National Association of Communes of Benin (ANCB), was to bring the Food and Nutrition Security Integration Score (SISAN) to scale across the country.

📥Download the full brief on SISAN below (in English and French) for more insights.