Cost Of Healthy Diet Rises To N1,513 In February — NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, says the national average Cost of a Healthy Diet, CoHD, per adult per day rose to one thousand, five hundred and thirteen naira in February 2026.

The bureau disclosed this in its latest Cost of a Healthy Diet report released in Abuja, noting that the figure represents a 3.76 per cent increase compared to the one thousand, four hundred and fifty-eight naira recorded in January 2026.

According to the NBS, the Cost of a Healthy Diet represents the least expensive combination of locally available food items that meets globally recognised food-based dietary guidelines.

The bureau explained that the indicator serves as a measure of both 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,” the report stated.

The NBS further revealed that the South-East recorded the highest average cost of a healthy diet in February at one thousand, eight hundred and eighty-nine naira per adult per day, followed by the South-West at one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six naira.

It added that the North-East recorded the lowest regional average at one thousand, one hundred and sixty naira per adult per day.

At the state level, the bureau said Ekiti State recorded the highest Cost of a Healthy Diet at two thousand and seventy-five naira, followed by Imo State at two thousand and fifty-one naira, and Abia State at one thousand, nine hundred and twenty-four naira.

According to the report, Adamawa, Borno and Taraba States recorded the lowest costs at nine hundred and seventy-nine naira, one thousand and forty naira, and one thousand, one hundred and two naira respectively.

The NBS noted that the Cost of a Healthy Diet has continued to rise steadily over the past year.

It stated that the February 2026 figure was 12.4 per cent higher than the one thousand, three hundred and forty-six naira recorded in February 2025.

“The food groups that have driven the increases in CoHD on a year-on-year basis are animal source foods followed by fruits, then oil and fats and lastly vegetables.

“However, the price of starchy staples decreased on a year-on-year basis,” the report added.

The bureau also explained that animal-source foods remained the most expensive component of the healthy diet basket in February, accounting for 39 per cent of the total cost while contributing only 13 per cent of total calories.

It further noted that fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie.

“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,” the report stated.

The NBS also observed that the Cost of a Healthy Diet had risen faster than both general inflation and food inflation in the country.

“However, the CoHD and the food Consumer Price Index, 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 explained.

The bureau said the findings would support collaboration among policymakers, researchers and civil society organisations working on food security and nutrition.

According to the report, such collaboration would help stakeholders develop strategies to improve access, availability and affordability of healthy diets across the country.

The NBS added that future research incorporating income levels could help determine the proportion of Nigerians unable to afford healthy diets.