Nigerians face malnutrition as cost of healthy diet hits N1,035

Nigerians are now facing acute malnutrition in addition to starvation which is steering them in the face as a result of the high cost of food.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in a report released yesterday evening shows that in April the average Cost of a Healthy Diet was N1,035 indicating an increase of 5.4 percent over the March 2024 figure which was N982.

The South West remained the most expensive zone to eat healthy meals in April 2024 with an average cost of N1,406. This is a sharp rise from the figure of the preceding month which was N1,198.

The North West also maintained its position as the zone with the lowest cost of a healthy diet at N781 per meal, a slight drop from the March figure which was N787.

The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) is the least expensive combination of locally available items that meet globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines. It is used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets.

The NBS reports that 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.

Nigerians are facing multifaceted challenges as headline inflation continues to rise making cost of living very high, food inflation is over 40 percent.