Benchmarking Policy Goals and Actions for Healthy Food Environments in Benin to Prevent Malnutrition

Abstract

Lifestyle and dietary shifts contributed to widespread or specific micronutrient deficiencies, leading to health issues such as obesity,  hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. These problems are linked to unhealthy food environments, yet  little was known about Benin’s policy responses. This study aimed to assess how different aspects of the food environment are addressed  in Benin’s policy documents and their alignment with international best practices. The study analyzed intentions and actions  to ensure a healthy food environment in Benin using various policy documents, including laws, decrees, sectoral policies, strategic and  operational plans, regulations, directives, action plans, and program/project documents. It followed the Food-EPI tool (Healthy Food  Environment Policy Index) of the INFORMAS network (International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs, Research, Monitoring, and  Action Support), focusing on the “Policy” and “Infrastructure Support” components, with steps like contextual analysis, document  collection, and evidence extraction. Of the 98 documents collected, 61 were analyzed and classified into frameworks: 54.09% in the policy  framework, 29.50% in the strategic framework, and 16.39% in the operational framework. While nine food environment domains were  addressed to some extent, disparities with international best practices were noted, especially in food composition, labeling, pricing,  governance, and funding/resources. Evidence gaps were identified in retail food sales, food trade and investments, and health  integration in policies. The study revealed diverse approaches and gaps in Benin’s policies for healthy food environments. Despite  progress in some domains, like leadership and monitoring, others, including food composition and governance, needed more attention.