Cost Of Healthy Diet Highest In South-West, Lowest In North West – Report Reveals

A report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday indicated that the highest average Cost of Healthy Diet (CoHD) was recorded in the South West Zone at ₦1,545 per day, whereas the North West Zone reported the lowest average at ₦956 per day.

Naija News understands that the national average cost of maintaining a healthy diet for an adult has shown a consistent upward trend recently, reaching ₦1,241 per individual in June.

The NBS report shows that the cost of a healthy diet (CoHD) has risen by 19.2 per cent.

Since January of this year, the CoHD per adult has been on a steady increase, with figures of ₦1,041 in May, ₦1,035 in April, ₦982 in March, ₦938 in February, and ₦858 in January.

The NBS’s report on a healthy diet in June reads partly, “The National Average Cost of a Healthy Diet was ₦1,241 per adult per day in June 2024.

“At the State level, Ekiti, Ogun, and Osun states recorded the highest cost with ₦1,640, ₦1,599, and ₦1,557, respectively. Katsina, Kano and Jigawa accounted for the lowest costs, with ₦878, N926 and ₦937.

“At the zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South-West Zone at ₦1,545 per day, followed by the South-South zone with ₦1,376 per day.

“The lowest average Cost of a Healthy diet was recorded in the West Zone with ₦956 per day.

“The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) has been steadily rising over the past six (6) months, since January 2024.

“In June 2024, the CoHD was 45% higher than it was in January 2024 (₦858). It was also 19% higher than the cost in May 2024 (₦1,041). The main drivers of this increase in CoHD are vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, and starchy foods.”

NBS explained that CoHD is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meet globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines, used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets.

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

“However, 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,” said NBS.