23 million people in sub-Saharan Africa unable to afford a healthy diet

The United Nations has disclosed that 23 million people in sub-Sharan Africa are currently unable to afford a healthy diet. 

This comes after the cost of a healthy diet rose globally by 4.3 per cent in comparison to 2020, and by 6.7 per cent compared to the pre-Covid-19-pandemic levels, in 2019.

While releasing the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World jointly by five United Nations specialised agencies, the global body further disclosed that in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the cost of a healthy diet increased by more than 5 per cent from 2020 to 2021, negatively affecting all sub-regions except for Northern Africa, where the cost fell by 2.8 per cent.

“The average price of a healthy diet in African countries including Kenya is now Sh918 (3.57 dollars),” the UN  disclosed while explaining that the cost of a healthy diet is expressed in purchasing power parity  dollars per person per day. 

“The share of people unable to afford a healthy diet is a weighted average (%) estimated using population data. The 2022 World Bank’s income classification is used to identify country income groups while the calculation of the annual change (%) in the cost of a healthy diet is based on the cost rounded to three decimal places

” More than 3.1 billion people in the world – or 42 per cent – were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021, representing an increase of 134 million people compared to 2019, before the pandemic,” the UN observed while explaining that  this reflects the increase in the cost of a healthy diet that, in many countries, occurred in combination with a decline in disposable income.

“While Asia had the largest number of people who were unable to afford a healthy diet (1.9 billion) in 2021, Africa reported the highest proportion of the population unable to afford it (78 percent) compared to Asia (44 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (23 per cent), Oceania (three per cent), and Northern America and Europe (one per cent),” the report highlights. “The surge in the cost of a healthy diet reflects an overall rise in food inflation that hit every region following the outbreak of the pandemic. Soaring prices were mostly driven by lockdowns and by disruptions in the global supply chain and transportation systems, as well as labour shortages hitting especially the agriculture sector.

According to the UN, healthy diets are essential for achieving food security goals and improving nutritional outcomes. “It also helps reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and certain types of cancer.”

“A healthy diet is composed of a variety of nutritious and safe foods that provide dietary energy and nutrients in the amounts needed for a healthy and active life. A healthy diet is based on a wide range of unprocessed or minimally processed foods, balanced across food groups, while it restricts the consumption of highly processed foods and drink products; it includes wholegrains, legumes, nuts, an abundance and variety of fruits and vegetables, and can include moderate amounts of eggs, dairy, poultry and fish, and small amounts of red meat,” the report observes while highlighting that eating a healthy diet throughout the life cycle is critical for preventing all forms of malnutrition, including child stunting and wasting, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight or obesity. 

“It also helps reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and certain types of cancer.”

UN experts further explained that the revised analysis presented in this year’s report – which accounts for updated income distributions in 2020 and 2021 – shows that almost 3.2 billion people worldwide could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, with a slight improvement in 2021 (a decrease of 52 million people). 

“Food prices continued to climb throughout 2021, pushing up the average cost of a healthy diet globally. However, a rebound in economic growth in many countries, particularly in Asia, may have translated into larger fiscal space for stimulus packages, social transfers and improved labour markets.27, 28 These efforts helped to counter the effects of high food inflation, thereby reducing the number of people unable to afford a healthy diet at the global level, largely driven by Asia.” 

The report further reminds that in 2021, the average cost of a healthy diet globally was 3.66 PPP dollars per person per day.

“The cost was higher in Latin America and the Caribbean (4.08 PPP dollars) compared to Asia (3.90 PPP dollars), Africa (3.57 PPP dollars), Northern America and Europe (3.22 PPP dollars), and Oceania (3.20 PPP dollars).” 

UN Experts are also very much concerned that the cost of a healthy diet has been on the rise since 2019 and say that that it increased globally by 6.7 percent between 2019 and 2021, with a notable single-year increase of 4.3 percent in 2021. 

“The surge in the cost of a healthy diet reflects an overall rise in food inflation that hit every region following the outbreak of the pandemic. Soaring prices were mostly driven by lockdowns and by disruptions in the global supply chain and transportation systems, as well as labour shortages hitting especially the agriculture sector.

 The cost of a healthy diet increased by more than five per cent between 2020 and 2021 in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania, but only marginally in Northern America and Europe (0.6 per cent),” they noted.

“The increase in cost in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania was nearly double that which occurred between 2019 and 2020, while the cost rose to a lesser extent in Asia and in Northern America and Europe.” 

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