Cost of healthy diet drops marginally by 0.8% in August

For the first time in 12 months, the cost of a healthy diet (CoHD) has shown a sign of moderation, declining from N1,265 in July to N1,255 in August, a 0.8 per cent drop.

The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.

CoHD is used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets. This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.

Over the past 11 months, the rate had maintained a steady rise, driven by the headline and food inflation. It also reflects how difficult it has become for Nigerians to feed.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that in August 2024, the average CoHD was highest in the South West at N1,554 per adult per day, compared to N1.014 per adult per day in North West.

In recent months, the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation.

However, the NBS states that the CoHD and the food CPI are not directly comparable; the CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index.

In August, headline inflation and food inflation declined for the second consecutive month to 32.15 per cent and 37. 52 per cent respectively.