The P20 in Benin: From consultation to consensus
The P20 approach focuses on a small number of indicators linked to the SDGs to assess whether the people in the poorest 20% of the population (the P20) are being included in progress. To leave no one behind, the progress of the P20 needs to be fast enough to narrow the gap between them and everyone else. The approach highlights the importance of disaggregation by wealth quintile, gender, geography, age and disability to track the inclusion of different groups. The governments of Switzerland and Benin have been working with Development Initiatives (DI) to apply the P20 approach, examining the extent to which the poorest 20% of people are included in progress in their own countries. This report is meant to start a dialogue about the potential of the P20 approach drawing on a subset of issues and a preliminary discussion of how the P20 approach might be applied at a sub-national level. While there have been improvements in average household consumption, nutrition, birth registration and other sectors in Benin, the gap between the P20 and the rest of the population is growing. The latest data indicates that the average per capita income for Benin’s P20 decreased to almost half their 2011 level by 2015, dropping from $0.82 per day to $0.44 per day.5 The P20 approach also proved to be a useful framework to identifying challenges and opportunities at a subnational level and within specific sectors.
