Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun have topped states with the highest cost of obtaining a healthy diet per adult in February, according to the Cost of Healthy Diet report.
“Ekiti, Lagos, and Osun states recorded the highest costs of a healthy diet (CoHD) per adult a day at N1,295, N1,195, and N1,184 respectively,” according to the report.
“The national average, CoHD stated, per adult a day stood at N938 in February 2024, according to the report.”
The report revealed this in its CoHD report released recently in Abuja, noting that the average CoHD was highest in the southwest at N1,157 per adult per day, followed by the southeast region at N1,077 per day.
It also said that in February, the lowest average CoHD was recorded in the North-West region at N723 per adult per day.
The bureau said Katsina State recorded the lowest CoHD at N673, followed by Sokoto, and Zamfara States at N714 and N720, respectively.
The bureau said the CoHD was the least expensive combination of locally available items that met globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.
Furthermore, the report said physical and economic access to healthy diets was used as a measure.
“This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.”
The bureau said that to compute the CoHD indicator, the following data on Retail Food Prices, Food Composition Data, and Healthy Diet Standards were required.
The report added that animal-source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in February, accounting for 38 percent of the total CoHD to provide 13 percent of the total calories.
It noted that fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie.
“They accounted for 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively, of the total CoHD while providing only seven percent and five percent of total calories in the healthy diet basket.
“Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at six percent of the total cost,” it stated.
The report also says that in recent months 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.
“The food CPI increased approximately by four percent between January and February, while CoHD increased by nine percent.’’
The NBS said the policy implications of these results would foster collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders, such as policymakers, researchers and civil society actors that focus on food security.
“These stakeholders will devise strategies that tackle access, availability, and affordability of healthy diet effectively.
“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 report said.
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