Prevalence and Determinants of Food Insecurity in the Southwestern Benin Setting (West Africa

Abstract

Food insecurity affects life quality. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence and identify socioeconomic determinants of food insecurity in southwestern Benin setting. This cross-sectional study included 510 households selected in the southwestern of Benin using randomly using multistage cluster technique. Data on dietary habits were collected from heads of households using questionnaire. Food insecurity was determined using food insecurity pillars (food availability, access and use) and the score of food consumption based on the diversity and the frequency of food groups consumption. Among the 510 respondents, 47.7% were women. The prevalence of food insecurity was 31.5% (CI95%: 31.3-31.7). Households heads who has secondary school training level had 0.4 (CI95%: 0.2–0.9) times less risk to experience food insecurity than those which no schooling. Households heads who has low socio economic level were 4.8 (IC95%: 2.8–7.8) times more at-risk to experience food insecurity than those of medium socio economic level. The prevalence of food insecurity was high in southwestern Benin setting in 2015. Interventions to improve education level and socio economic conditions are needed to prevent food insecurity in households.