CEM REPORT, AGROFOOD | Ekiti State has emerged among the 36 states and FCT as the State with the highest Cost of a Healthy Diet in the month of December according to a report by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics.
Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) report assesses household’s physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for an active and healthy life. The metric uses the availability, price, and nutritional composition of retail food items to identify the least expensive combination of items that meet requirements for a healthy diet.
According to the report for December 2023, Ekiti recorded the highest cost with N1,052 followed by Osun and Ondo States with N1,017 and N986 respectively all in the south west region of Nigeria. The lowest total diet costs were recorded in Katsina, Niger and Adamawa at N594, N635, and N654, respectively
On national average, the report put the National average Cost of a Healthy Diet at N786 per adult per day in the month of December.
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At the Zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South West zone at N979 per day, followed by South East zone with N920 per day. The lowest average Cost of a Healthy diet was recorded in North West zone with N663 per day.
Cost Share by (Diet) Food Group
NBS reported that Animal Source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in December, accounting for 38% of the total CoHD to provide 13% of the total calories. Fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie; they accounted for 12% and 14%, respectively, of total CoHD while providing only 7% and 5% of total calories in the Healthy Diet Basket. The least-expensive food group on average was Legumes, Nuts, and Seeds, at 6% of the total cost.
General and Food Inflation Relative to the Cost of a Healthy Diet
In the past year, the CoHD and the cost of all other goods and services increased at roughly the same rate, until July 2023, when CoHD increased at a faster rate than all goods and services (general CPI) and more than all foods for which retail prices are collected.
