How Much Does the Food Insecurity Experience Scale Overlap with Poor Food Consumption and Monetary Poverty? Evidence from West Africa.

This article examines the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), an eight-question indicator combining subjective and objective dimensions of food insecurity, and its overlap with undernourishment in 10 West African countries. Using nationally representative household surveys, including detailed data from Nigeria, the study finds that in 4 out of 10 countries, the prevalence of food insecurity measured by the FIES is similar among populations likely to be undernourished and those unlikely to be undernourished, while in 5 countries, high FIES prevalence is observed even among the least undernourished segments. The analysis highlights significant regional and question-type heterogeneity, with subjective FIES components showing less variation across welfare levels than more objective components. The findings suggest that while the FIES is a valuable food-access measure, it should be used alongside other indicators such as the Food Consumption Score and monetary poverty to better inform policy and accurately interpret food insecurity in diverse contexts.