The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines. It 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.
Over the past 11 months, the rate had maintained a steady rise, driven by both the headline and food inflation. It also reflects how difficult it has become for Nigerians to feed.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that in August 2024, the average CoHD was highest in the South West at N1,554 per adult per day, compared to N1.014 per adult per day in North West.
In recent months, the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation. However, the NBS states that 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.
It would be recalled that in August, headline inflation and food inflation declined for the second consecutive months to 32.15 per cent and 37. 52 per cent respectively.