The latest ‘Cost of Healthy Diet’ report, produced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, shows that the national average cost of a healthy diet rose by 110.7 per cent to N1,035 per day in April 2024 from N491 per day in the same period of last year. The cost was also 5.4 per cent higher from N982 in March.
The cost of basic food items that meet the minimum nutrient requirements has more than doubled within a year, new official data show, putting healthy diets beyond the reach of more Nigerians.
The latest ‘Cost of Healthy Diet’ report, produced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, shows that the national average cost of a healthy diet rose by 110.7 per cent to N1,035 per day in April 2024 from N491 per day in the same period of last year. The cost was also 5.4 per cent higher from N982 in March.
The CoHD metric assesses the availability, price, and nutritional composition of retail food items to identify the most cost-effective combination meeting the requirements for a healthy diet.
“CoHD has steadily increased since the first CoHD report by NBS (October 2023). The CoHD in April 2024 is 47 per cent higher than in October 2023 (N703) and five percent higher than CoHD in March 2024, which was N982,” the report said.
It said the food groups that have driven the increases in CoHD the most are Vegetables, Starchy Staples, and Legumes Nuts, and Seeds. “The cost of meeting the recommendations for Fruits has changed the least since March 2024.”
According to the NBS, the headline inflation quickened for the 16th straight time to 33.69 percent in April, up from 33.20 percent in March.
Food inflation, which constitutes more than 50 per cent of headline inflation, also increased to 40.53 percent from 40.53 percent.
