Key points
- The National Average Cost of a Healthy Diet per adult a day stood at N1,541 as at March 2026.
- The March figure represents a 1.89 per cent increase compared to the N1,513 recorded in February 2026.
- At the zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South-East at N1,899 and lowest in the North-East at N1,233.
- Animal-source foods emerged as the most expensive food group recommendation to meet, accounting for 39 per cent of the total cost.
- Legumes, nuts, and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, making up seven per cent of the total cost.
Main Story
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that the National Average Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) per adult per day stood at N1,541 as of March 2026.
The NBS disclosed this in its CoHD report released on Monday in Abuja.
It stated that the figure represented a 1.89 percent increase from N1,513 recorded in February 2026, attributing the rise to higher prices across all food groups.
The bureau explained that the Cost of a Healthy Diet refers to the least expensive combination of locally available foods that meet globally accepted dietary guidelines, and serves as a measure of both physical and economic access to nutritious diets.
It added that in March 2026, the average cost was highest in the South-East at N1,899 per adult per day, followed by the South-West at N1,801.
The lowest average cost was recorded in the North-East at N1,233 per adult per day.
At the state level, Ekiti, Imo and Abia recorded the highest CoHD at N2,091, N2,052 and N1,970 respectively.
Adamawa, the Federal Capital Territory and Taraba recorded the lowest at N1,004, N1,113 and N1,149 respectively.
The NBS noted that the cost of a healthy diet has steadily increased over the past year, rising by 4.38 percent from N1,477 in March 2025 to N1,541 in March 2026.
It said animal-source foods remained the most expensive food group needed to meet dietary recommendations, accounting for 39 percent of total cost while contributing about 13 percent of total calories.
It also stated that fruits and vegetables were among the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie.
The bureau said the findings were important for policymakers, researchers and civil society actors working on food security and nutrition planning.
The Issues
- Managing a steady annual increase in the baseline cost of nutritious meals as daily food group prices continue to rise.
- Resolving major geographical price disparities that make dietary guidelines much more expensive to meet in southern states.
- Developing targeted agricultural or economic interventions to lower the high cost per calorie associated with fruits, vegetables, and animal protein.
What’s Being Said
- Defining the strict baseline parameters used to calculate the daily nutritional spending threshold, the bureau noted: “This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.”
- Outlining the specific commodity price variations that occurred within the dietary basket during the reporting cycle, the report stated: “While the price of starchy staples and vegetables decreased, all other food groups experienced price increases.”
- Explaining the nutritional economics of the least-cost basket where certain items absorb high expenditure while yielding minimal energy returns, the document observed: “They accounted for 16 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively, of the total CoHD while providing only seven per cent and five per cent of total calories in the Healthy Diet Basket. Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at seven per cent of the total cost.’’
- Discussing the joint operational frameworks needed to convert these statistical data points into practical interventions, the report remarked: “These stakeholders will devise strategies that tackle access, availability, and affordability of a healthy diet effectively.”
- Highlighting how future demographic research can pinpoint exact socioeconomic gaps by matching nutritional costs against family earnings, the bureau concluded: “Also, future research incorporating income can also be used to determine the proportion and number of the population that are unable to afford a healthy diet,”
What’s Next
- Food security stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers will collaborate to devise strategies tackling the affordability of healthy diets.
- Future research initiatives will incorporate household income data to determine the exact proportion of the population unable to afford the baseline basket.
- Market tracking teams will monitor local food items to see if animal-source food groups maintain their high share of total dietary costs.
Bottom Line
Driven by widespread price increases across nearly all food groups, the national average cost of a healthy diet rose to N1,541 per day in March 2026, with the National Bureau of Statistics identifying animal-source foods as the most expensive component and calling for collaborative stakeholder strategies to improve nutritional affordability.
 per adult a day stood at N1, 541 as at March 2026, the National Bureau of Statistics ...){kind=link}