The national average cost of a healthy diet in the country increased to N1,241 in June, representing a 19.2 per cent increase compared to N1,041 in the preceding month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.
According to the Cost of Healthy Diet (CoHD) June 2024, released by the statistical agency, diet was highest in the South-west at N1,545 per adult per day, compared to N956 per adult per day in North-west.
The NBS noted further that the CoHD had risen faster than general inflation and food inflation in recent months.
Furthermore, at the state level, Ekiti, Ogun and Osun states recorded the highest cost with N1,640, N1,599, and N1,557 respectively.
Katsina, Kano and Jigawa accounted for the lowest costs with N878, N926 and N937.
At the zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South-west Zone at N1,545 per day, followed by South-south Zone with N1,376 per day.
The lowest average Cost of a Healthy diet was recorded in the North-west Zone with N956 per day.
However, the CoHD and the food inflation are not directly comparable; the CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index, it clarified.
Essentially, the CoHD is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.
It is used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets.
This represents the lower bound, or floor of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.
According to the NBS, the data provides important information about food access, a key aspect of food security, which is useful for government, civil society and development partners, private sector, and researchers.
It stated, “For instance, where the Cost of a Healthy Diet is high, it is possible to identify which least-cost items and food groups are driving the high cost. Stakeholders can identify supply challenges in specific foods or food groups to be addressed, for example with improved production, distribution, or market access.
“The Cost of a Healthy Diet can also inform: the minimum income needed by households to access a healthy diet, and social protection and transfer amounts for vulnerable populations.
“Prioritisation of commodities for agricultural production and trade policy interventions. Targeting interventions, including nutrition education, to populations with the most potential to benefit; nutrition education is only effective when people can afford to comply with the recommendations.
“Research on the relationship between food access and other food system factors and outcomes. These results can also foster collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders, such as policymakers, researchers and civil society actors that focus on food security, to devise strategies that tackle access, availability, and affordability of healthy diet effectively.
“Future research incorporating income can also be used to determine the proportion and number of the population that are unable to afford a healthy diet.”
James Emejo
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