Over 65% Of Nigerian Households Can’t Afford Healthy Meals – NBS Report

Due to a lack of funds, at least 65.8% of Nigerian households could not consume wholesome, nutrient-dense, or preferred foods during the previous 30 days.

The General Household Survey-Panel Wave 5 (2023/2024), a recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) study, served as the basis for this.

The survey, funded by the World Bank, further finds that 63.8% of households relied on a restricted variety of meals, while 62.4% expressed worry about having insufficient food to consume.

Additionally, 12.3% of households reported that at least one member went a full day without eating, and 60.5% of households claimed to eat less food than they should. A noteworthy 20.8% of households had to borrow food or seek assistance from friends and relatives to live.

The report stated, “Approximately two out of three households (65.8 per cent) reported being unable to eat healthy, nutritious, or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days. 63.8 per cent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 per cent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 per cent ate less than they thought they should. 

“Furthermore, 12.3 per cent reported that at least one person in the household went without eating for a whole day, and 20.8 per cent of households had to borrow food or rely on help from friends or relatives.” 

Southern regions and households headed by most affected women

• Households in the southern zones of Nigeria reported higher levels of food insecurity than those in the northern regions, demonstrating clear geographic differences. For example, compared to fewer cases in the North Central zone, more than 60% of households in the South-South zone acknowledged skipping meals because of financial difficulties.
• The research also emphasized how households led by women bear a disproportionate amount of the burden.
• Compared to 64% of homes headed by men, a startling 72.2% of households headed by women could not afford nutritious meals.
• When homes ran out of food entirely, the difference was much more noticeable, with 55.2% of households headed by women and 41.3% of those headed by men experiencing this situation.

Food insecurity has significantly increased since 2018

Compared to 2018–2019, the statistics also showed a notable increase in food insecurity. The percentage of households experiencing food anxiety as a result of financial difficulties has increased from 36.9% in Wave 4 to 62.4% in Wave 5, almost doubling.

• The biggest increase was in the North Central zone, where the percentage of households with food-related problems tripled from 16.2% to 44.9%. The South West zone, on the other hand, increased less, from 46.7% to 61.7%.
• In addition, 37% of households said they had gone without food during the previous 12 months. Of them, 61.6% experienced shortages in certain months, especially in June, July, and August, which were the most challenging times.
• Food shortages were most common in the North East zone (53%), while they were least common in the North Central zone (25.7%).