Key data for Burkina Faso

NCI16th HRCI6th HANCI7th
HANCI compares 45 countries for their performance on 22 indicators of political commitment to reduce hunger and undernutrition. All the countries compared in the index have high rates of hunger and undernutrition. The comparative approach of the index means that country scores are calculated in relation to the political commitment of the other countries in the index.
Existing rates of: Stunting: 24.9% Wasting: 8.4% Proportion of population underweight: 8.4% Source: Government of Burkina Faso (SMART,2018)

Strong Performance

  • Spending on agriculture (10% of public spending in 2019) meets government commitments set out in the African Union’s Maputo Declaration (10% of public spending).
  • The Government encourages varied agricultural research and extension services, and local farmer organisations are involved in setting policy priorities. The extension system is effective and properly reaches out to poor farmers. Government policies, strategies and mechanisms seek to ensure gender equity in access to extension services.
  • Relative to other HANCI countries, Burkina Faso’s medium/long term national development policy (Plan national de développement économique et social (PNDES)) assigns strong importance to nutrition.
  • Burkina Faso instituted a separate budget line for nutrition, enabling transparency and accountability for spending.
  • The National Nutrition Policy/Strategy identifies time bound nutrition targets and a multisectoral and multistakeholder policy coordination mechanism has been set up.
  • Policymakers in Burkina Faso benefit from regular nutrition surveys that are statistically representative at national level. The last survey was published in 2016.
  • The Government of Burkina Faso promotes complementary feeding practices and has achieved two high doses of vitamin A supplementation for 99% of children in 2018.
  • In Burkina Faso 92.8% of women aged 15-49 were visited at least once during pregnancy by skilled health personnel in 2015.
  • In Burkina Faso, constitutional protection of the right to social security is strong.

Areas for improvement

  • Burkina Faso’s spending in its health sector (10% of public spending in 2017) does not fully meet (15%) commitments set out in the Abuja Declaration.
  • In Burkina Faso, the law does not give women economic rights equal to men. Men and women have equal legal access to agricultural land, but this is not effectively enforced and discriminatory practices against women continue, increasing their vulnerability to hunger and undernutrition.
  • Weak access to improved sanitation facilities (19.4% in 2017) obstructs better hunger and nutrition outcomes.
  • Social safety nets in Burkina Faso are basic and only cover few risks for a limited number of beneficiaries.

Hunger Reduction Commitment Index (HRCI)

Public Spending Score Year HRCI rank of 45
Public spending on agriculture as share of total public spending
?
10%2019Joint 8th
Public spending on health as share of total public spending
?
10%20177th
Policies Score Year HRCI rank of 45
Access to land (security of tenure)
?
Moderate2019Joint 18th
Access to agricultural research and extension services
?
Strong2019Joint 9th
Civil registration system — coverage of live births
?
76.9%201017th
Functioning of social protection systems
?
Weak2018Joint 26th
Laws Score Year HRCI rank of 45
Level of constitutional protection of the right to food
?
Moderate2019Joint 10th
Equality of women’s access to agricultural land
?
In Law, not in Practice2019Joint 3rd
Equality of women’s economic rights
?
Not in Law2019Joint 16th
Constitutional right to social security
?
Yes2018Joint 1st

Nutrition Commitment Index (NCI)

Public Spending Score Year NCI rank of 45
Separate budget for nutrition
?
Yes2019Joint 1st
Policies Score Year NCI rank of 45
Vitamin A supplementation coverage for children
?
99%2018Joint 1st
Government promotes complementary feeding
?
Yes2016Joint 1st
Population with access to an improved water source
?
75.6%201732nd
Population with access to improved sanitation
?
19.4%201736th
Health care visits for pregnant women
?
92.8%201522nd
Nutrition features in national development policy
?
Strong2016-202011th
National Nutrition Policy/Strategy
?
Yes2019Joint 1st
Multisector and multistakeholder policy coordination
?
Yes2019Joint 1st
Time bound nutrition targets
?
Yes2019Joint 1st
National nutrition survey in last 3 years
?
Yes2016Joint 1st
Laws Score Year NCI rank of 45
Enshrine ICBMS in domestic law
?
Many Aspects Enshrined2019Joint 19th