The cost of maintaining a healthy diet in Nigeria’s urban areas was highest in Ekiti, Ogun, and Osun states during June 2024, based on the latest findings from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). According to the NBS report, an average person in Ekiti spent N1,688 per day on a healthy diet, while Ogun residents spent N1,621, and those in Osun spent N1,588. Other states with notable costs include Delta at N1,523 and Lagos at N1,480, completing the top five states with the highest daily costs for healthy diets.
The NBS defines the Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) as the lowest-priced combination of locally available foods that meet global dietary guidelines. It serves as a measure of physical and economic access to nutritious diets, excluding transportation and meal preparation costs. In June 2024, the national average for a healthy diet stood at N1,241, which marks a 19.2% increase from May 2024’s N1,041. The NBS also noted that the highest average CoHD was recorded in the South West at N1,545 per person per day, in contrast to N956 in the North West.
According to the World Bank, a healthy diet becomes unaffordable when its cost surpasses the available income for food, particularly for those living near international poverty lines.
Other states with significant costs for healthy diets include Oyo (N1,475), Rivers (N1,468), the Federal Capital Territory (N1,462), Ondo (N1,443), and Akwa Ibom (N1,441).
In rural areas, the South West again topped the list for the most expensive healthy diets, with Ondo state registering the highest at N1,633 per person per day, closely followed by Lagos at N1,603. Rural areas in Ondo and Lagos were more costly than their urban counterparts. Other states with high rural diet costs include Ekiti (N1,592), Ogun (N1,576), Osun (N1,525), and Kwara (N1,501).
On the other hand, Katsina recorded the lowest cost for a healthy diet in urban areas, with N885 per day. Following Katsina were Kano (N926), Sokoto (N969), Jigawa (N981), and Kaduna (N997).
In rural areas, states like Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kebbi had the least costs for a healthy diet.
The data highlights the South West as the region with the highest costs for healthy diets, followed by the South South at N1,376, the South East at N1,320, the North Central at N1,184, the North East at N1,135, and the North West at N956.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has stated that inflation, driven by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures, has significantly raised the cost of nutritious diets globally, making them unaffordable for many. FAO also emphasized the importance of diet quality as a critical factor linking food security and nutrition, noting that poor diet quality can lead to various forms of malnutrition, including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity.
