The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Friday that the National average Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) was N858 in January 2024.
The Bureau, in its ‘Cost of Healthy Diet January 2024’ report published on Friday, March 8, indicated that the report’s findings showed that the average CoHD was highest in the South West at N1,045 per adult per day, compared to N683 per adult per day in North West.
According to the statistics agency, in recent months, the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation.
However, it clarified that the CoHD and the food CPI were not directly comparable, pointing out that the CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day while the food CPI is a weighted index.
The NBS further indicated that the CoHD comprised the least expensive combination of locally available items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.
The statistics agency explained that the CoHD is used as a measure of 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.
