According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the national average cost of a healthy diet (CoHD) per adult per day was N1,035 in April. The NBS reported this in its CoHD report for April 2024, which was released on Wednesday in Abuja. The bureau said the CoHD in April grew by 5.4 per cent compared to the N982 recorded in March.
The NBS noted the CoHD was the least priced combination of locally available goods that satisfied globally consistent food-based dietary standards. It said it was used to assess 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.”
The agency explained that to compute the CoHD indicator, the following data on retail food costs, food composition data, and healthy diet criteria were necessary. The NBS also revealed that in April, the average CoHD was greatest in the South-West at N1,406 per adult per day, followed by the South-East at N1,190 per day.
It noted the lowest average CoHD was reported in the North-West at N781 per adult per day. The NBS further noted that at the state level, Ekiti, Ogun, and Osun registered the highest CoHD at N1,483, N1,447, and N1,417, respectively. The agency said Kogi and Katsina registered the lowest CoHD at N709, followed by Kaduna and Nasarawa at N756 and N769, respectively.
“The CoHD in April 2024 is 40% greater than what was reported in October 2023, at N703, and 5% higher than CoHD in Mach 2024, at N982. “Vegetables, starchy staples, legumes, nuts, and seeds have been the most important food groups in driving CoHD rises. The cost of satisfying the oil and fat recommendations has changed the least since March 2024.
The research also stated that animal-source foods were the most expensive food category recommendation to meet in April, accounting for 36% of total CoHD and 13% of total calories. It found that fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie.
“They contributed for 11% and 16% of total CoHD, respectively, while contributing just 7% and 5% of total calories in the Healthy Diet Basket. “Legumes, nuts, and seeds were the least expensive food group on average, accounting for 6% of total costs.” According to the survey, in recent months, the CoHD has climbed faster than both general and food inflation.
“However, the COHD and the food Consumer Price Index (CPI) are not exactly comparable. “The CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index.”
NBS
The NBS stated that the policy implications of these findings would encourage collaboration among a diverse range of stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, and civil society actors concerned with food security. “These stakeholders will develop effective methods for improving access, availability, and affordability of nutritious diets. “Also, 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,” the paper stated. (NAN)
Source: vanguardngr.com
