Summary report on the evaluation of the country strategic plan for Benin (2019–2023) – Benin

Executive summary

The evaluation of the Benin country strategic plan for the period from July 2019 to December 2023 was conducted between March 2022 and April 2023. It covered the implementation of the plan between July 2019 and June 2022 and also considered the transitional interim country strategic plan that was implemented from January 2018 to June 2019. The evaluation assessed WFP’s strategic positioning, its effectiveness in contributing to the strategic outcomes of the plans, its efficiency and the factors explaining its performance. The evaluation sought to generate evidence and learning to inform the development of the next country strategic plan.

Aligned with the WFP strategic plan for 2017–2021, the country strategic plan for Benin defined three strategic outcomes and three activities focused on school feeding, nutrition and capacity strengthening. A fourth strategic outcome, on crisis response, was added through a budget revision in December 2019.

The evaluation found the plan to be evidence-based and reflective of the food security and nutrition needs of the population of Benin. WFP’s support for the implementation of the national integrated school feeding programme was highly relevant, but in other programmatic areas the country strategic plan did not systematically set out opportunities for providing assistance based on needs and the comparative advantages of WFP.

Summary report on the evaluation of the country strategic plan for Benin (2019–2023)

The plan was based on a clear line of sight but underlying assumptions, such as the timely receipt of funding, were not always valid. The plan was also not systematically adjusted when circumstances changed. Capacity strengthening activities were not integrated coherently throughout the country strategic plan, and uneven levels of funding among strategic outcomes and activities exacerbated that lack of coherence.

WFP managed a massive scale-up of the national integrated school feeding programme, contributing significantly to the programme’s success. Most of the expected results were achieved, but the closure of schools due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in 2020 had negative impacts on school retention rates and levels of academic success. Owing to the strong focus on the implementation and scale-up of the programme, opportunities for strengthening government capacities were missed and progress towards a gradual transfer of responsibilities to the Government has not occurred under the country strategic plan.

The almost exclusive orientation towards school feeding created an imbalance in the country strategic plan. As a result, WFP’s role in addressing the root causes of food and nutrition insecurity, which affect a significant and growing proportion of the population in Benin, was not adequately defined.

WFP has not made sufficient efforts to promote gender equality and has not managed to reduce the gender gap in school enrolment or to improve the situation of the many women who work as unpaid school cooks.

The emergency response to floods in 2019 encountered challenges related to targeting and delays in the delivery of assistance, which meant that achievements remained somewhat limited.

Overall, WFP has operated efficiently, particularly in terms of logistics and the timeliness of food deliveries to schools. A more sustainable procurement model based on local production and the introduction of alternative procurement modalities will be an essential element in the sustainability of the national school feeding programme.

The evaluation made five recommendations: ensure balance in WFP’s strategic direction in Benin; strengthen the integration of cross-cutting issues; promote WFP’s comparative advantages beyond those in school feeding; strengthen the sustainability of interventions and outcomes; and align human resources capacity with the strategic direction of the country strategic plan.