Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics reports that in August 2024, the daily cost of a healthy diet per adult averaged N1,255, down 0.8% from July’s N1,265.
This Cost of Healthy Diet (CoHD) measures access to nutritious food, representing “the least expensive combination of locally available items that met globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.”
According to the NBS, “This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.”
Regional costs varied, with the South-West and South-South zones being most expensive at N1,554 and N1,381 per adult per day, respectively.
In contrast, the North-West had the lowest average CoHD at N1,014 per adult per day. At the state level, Ogun, Lagos, and Rivers recorded the highest CoHD at N1,641, N1,615, and N1,572, respectively.
Katsina recorded the lowest CoHD at N880, followed by Kaduna at N951, and Sokoto at N980. The NBS noted that CoHD has steadily increased over the past six months, since March 2024.
“The CoHD in August 2024 is 28 per cent higher than what was recorded in March 2024 at N982.
“The food groups that have driven the increases in CoHD are legumes, nuts and seeds, starchy staples, and vegetables.
“On a month-month basis, CoHD declined by 0.8 per cent compared to the cost in July 2024 at N1,265 and vegetables saw a decline in price by 14.5 per cent on monthly basis.”
The report noted that animal-source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in August accounting for 37 per cent of the total CoHD to provide 13 per cent of the total calories.
It stated that fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie.
“They accounted for 11 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively, of the total CoHD while providing only seven per cent and five per cent of total calories in the Healthy Diet Basket.
“Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at seven per cent of the total cost,’’ the Bureau noted.
The report further stated that in recent months, the CoHD had risen faster than general inflation and food inflation.
“However, the CoHD and the food Consumer Price Index (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,” NBS mentioned.
