The report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) tells a story that goes far beyond food inflation. It exposes the widening gap between incomes and the real cost of living in Nigeria. While the headline figure, N1,589 per adult per day, may appear to be just another economic statistic, it represents the minimum amount required for one adult to eat a nutritionally adequate diet. For millions of Nigerians, that benchmark is becoming increasingly difficult to attain.
The latest Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) should serve as another wake-up call for policymakers. According to the report, the minimum cost of providing a healthy diet for one adult rose to N1,589 per day in April 2026, up from N1,541 in March and N1,518 in April 2025.
At first glance, a monthly increase of just over three per cent may not seem alarming. However, when placed against the realities of household income, unemployment, inflation, and stagnant wages, the figure paints a troubling picture of the real cost of living in Nigeria.
The debate about inflation often revolves around percentages. But families do not buy percentages; they buy food. They do not eat inflation figures; they eat rice, beans, vegetables, eggs, fish, fruits, and other essential foods whose prices continue to climb.
The NBS report reminds us that the true measure of economic wellbeing is not simply whether inflation is slowing but whether ordinary Nigerians can afford to eat well.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the report is that it measures not just food consumption but healthy food consumption.
The Cost of a Healthy Diet estimates the minimum amount required to meet an adult’s daily nutritional needs using locally available foods. It is not about luxury meals or restaurant dining. It is about consuming enough nutrients to live a healthy and productive life.
Using the NBS figure, the arithmetic is sobering.
A family of five would require approximately N7,945 every day simply to maintain a healthy diet.
That translates to almost N238,350 every month on food alone.
This calculation excludes transportation, rent, school fees, electricity, healthcare, clothing, communication, and countless other household expenses.
For many Nigerian households earning below this amount each month, healthy eating is increasingly becoming a privilege rather than a basic necessity.
One of the report’s most revealing findings is that animal-source foods account for 40 per cent of the total cost of a healthy diet while contributing only 13 per cent of daily calorie requirements.
Similarly, fruits and vegetables account for 30 per cent of total dietary costs while supplying just 12 per cent of calories.
This illustrates a critical distinction between filling the stomach and nourishing the body.
Many households may still be able to consume enough calories through cheaper staples such as garri, maize, yam, or cassava. However, obtaining adequate proteins, vitamins, and minerals has become significantly more expensive.
This nutritional gap carries serious long-term consequences.
Children may experience stunted growth and poor cognitive development. Pregnant women become more vulnerable to health complications. Adults become less productive due to poor nutrition, increasing healthcare costs and reducing national productivity.
The report also highlights striking geographical disparities.
Residents of Ekiti require over N2,000 daily to maintain a healthy diet, while those in Adamawa require about N1,143.
Similarly, the South-East remains the most expensive geopolitical zone for healthy eating, while the North-East records the lowest costs.
These variations reflect differences in transportation costs, food production patterns, supply chains, insecurity, and local market conditions.
For policymakers, this means food affordability cannot be addressed through uniform national policies alone. State-specific interventions will increasingly become necessary.
Perhaps the biggest concern is that food costs continue to rise much faster than household incomes.
Although government has implemented wage increases for public sector workers, a significant proportion of Nigerians work in the informal sector, where earnings remain unstable.
Small traders, artisans, transport operators, farmers, and many self-employed Nigerians have seen their purchasing power steadily eroded.
For pensioners living on fixed incomes, the challenge is even greater.
The result is a growing number of households forced to make difficult choices—buy less food, skip meals, reduce dietary quality, or sacrifice spending on healthcare and education.
Poor nutrition is not merely a humanitarian concern.
It is also an economic issue.
Workers who cannot afford nutritious diets are generally less productive. Children who suffer malnutrition often perform worse academically, reducing the country’s future human capital.
Healthcare spending rises as diet-related illnesses become more common.
Businesses face lower productivity, while government spends more managing the consequences of poor health than preventing them.
Viewed this way, improving food affordability is not simply social welfare; it is economic policy.
Reducing the cost of healthy diets requires more than occasional food import waivers or temporary interventions.
Nigeria must tackle the structural factors driving food inflation.
These include improving agricultural productivity through mechanisation and irrigation, addressing insecurity in farming communities, reducing post-harvest losses, improving transportation infrastructure, and lowering logistics costs.
Equally important is strengthening storage facilities and cold-chain infrastructure to minimise waste and stabilise prices throughout the year.
Social protection programmes should also increasingly target nutrition rather than simply calorie consumption, especially for vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, and low-income households.
The NBS Cost of a Healthy Diet report provides one of the clearest indicators of the everyday realities confronting Nigerians.
While macroeconomic indicators may suggest gradual economic improvements, the average family ultimately measures economic progress by what appears on the dining table.
The rising cost of healthy food underscores a fundamental truth: economic recovery cannot be considered complete until ordinary Nigerians can afford balanced, nutritious meals without financial distress.
The real cost of living is measured not by inflation statistics alone, but by whether families can provide healthy food for their children, maintain their wellbeing, and live with dignity.
That remains one of Nigeria’s biggest economic challenges, and perhaps its most important test of inclusive growth.
