About 172 million Nigerians could not afford a healthy diet in 2022, according to the recent report titled "Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in All Its Forms," published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO).
The report reveals that this figure represents approximately 78.7 percent of the Nigerian population. The inability to afford a healthy diet has been on the rise since 2017, increasing from 143.8 million that year to 149 million in both 2018 and 2019.
The number surged to 162.5 million in 2020 and reached 167.4 million in 2021 before hitting 172 million in 2022.
To afford a healthy diet in Nigeria, an individual would need about $3.83 per day. This amount has been steadily increasing since 2017.
As of December 2022, the naira traded at N461.5 to the dollar on the official market, making the daily cost of a healthy meal approximately N1,767.55. However, the naira has since depreciated, closing at 1617.08 to the dollar recently.
The report also highlighted that Nigeria has the fifth highest cost of a healthy diet in West Africa, following Mauritania, Ghana, Cabo Verde, and Niger.
A related report from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition indicated that the average cost of a healthy diet rose from N858 per adult per day in January 2024 to N1,241 in June 2024.
The 2024 Global Report on Food Crises identified Nigeria as one of the six countries consistently ranking among the top ten in terms of population affected by acute food insecurity. This report noted that nearly 282 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2023 across 59 food-crisis countries.
