Cost of healthy diet climbs to N1,265 daily per adult

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that the average cost of a healthy diet in Nigeria has risen to N1,265 per adult per day, a 35% increase since February 2024.

The report uses the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (CoAHD) indicators, which measure the minimum cost required to meet international dietary standards, considering the availability, price, and nutritional composition of food items.

The data collected by NBS uses monthly food prices from over 10,000 outlets across urban and rural areas in each state and the FCT to calculate the average national cost of a healthy diet.

In Nigeria, CoHD is the minimum cost of foods needed to meet international recommendations defined in the Healthy Diet Basket (HDB), a globally relevant set of criteria that captures similarities across most national Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG).

The HDB was created as a comparable standard to calculate and compare the cost and affordability of healthy diets across countries; it is most relevant for countries where there is not yet a quantified national FBDG, like Nigeria.

The NBS report states that the national average cost of a healthy diet was N1,265 per adult per day in July 2024. At the state level, Ekiti, Ogun, and Osun recorded the highest costs with N1,632, N1,612, and N1,611, respectively, while Katsina, Adamawa, and Sokoto had the lowest costs with N884, N914, and N927.

At the zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South West Zone at N1,581 per day, followed by the South-South Zone with N1,487 per day. The lowest average cost was recorded in the North West Zone at N956 per day.

According to the data, animal-source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in July, accounting for 36% of the total CoHD while providing 13% of the total calories.

Meanwhile, fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie, accounting for 10% and 17%, respectively, of total CoHD while providing only 7% and 5% of total calories. Legumes, nuts, and seeds were the least expensive food group, at 7% of the total cost.

NBS stated: “The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) has been steadily rising over the past six months since February 2024. In July 2024, the CoHD was 35% higher than it was in February 2024 (N934). It was also 2% higher than the cost in June 2024 (N1,241). The main drivers of this increase in CoHD are vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, and starchy staples. On the other hand, oils and fats saw a decline in price by 6% on a monthly basis.”

NBS also noted the most and least expensive places to find a healthy diet for July 2024. Kwara (Rural) topped the chart with the highest CoHD at N1,985 per adult per day, while Katsina (Rural) offered the most affordable option at N864. Interestingly, some of the least-cost food items remained consistent across both locations, including millet whole grain, palm oil, onion, dried okra, and crayfish (small white).

However, price variations between these locations resulted in different costs per item. Some unique least-cost options also emerged; for instance, Kwara (Rural) favoured agric eggs as the most affordable animal source food, whereas Katsina (Rural) opted for crayfish.