The national average Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) increased to N1,589 per adult per day in April 2026, representing a 3.12 per cent rise from N1,541 recorded in March 2026, according to the latest Cost of a Healthy Diet report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report showed that the South-East recorded the highest average cost of a healthy diet at N1,830 per adult per day, while the North-East had the lowest at N1,415 per adult per day.
According to the NBS, the cost of a healthy diet has continued to increase at a faster pace than both the general inflation rate and food inflation.
The bureau clarified that the Cost of a Healthy Diet is different from the Food Consumer Price Index (CPI) and should not be compared directly.
“The CoHD includes fewer food items and is measured in naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index,” the report stated.
The NBS explained that the Cost of a Healthy Diet represents the least expensive combination of locally available foods that meets globally recognised food-based dietary guidelines. It serves as a measure of the physical and economic access to healthy diets and reflects the minimum daily cost per adult, excluding transportation and meal preparation expenses.
The bureau noted that Nigeria’s healthy diet standard is based on the Healthy Diet Basket (HDB), a globally recognised benchmark designed to estimate and compare the cost and affordability of healthy diets across countries, particularly those without quantified national Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs), such as Nigeria.
According to the NBS, the Healthy Diet Basket captures the minimum cost of foods required to meet international dietary recommendations and provides a comparable standard for assessing access to nutritious diets.
The report added that CoHD is an important indicator of food access and food security, providing valuable data for government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, the private sector and researchers in designing policies and interventions aimed at improving nutrition and affordability.
