Healthy Eating Out of Reach for Most Nigerians: NBS Survey Finds 2/3 of Households Can't Afford Nutritious Food
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey titled “Nigeria General Household Survey – Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 (2023/2024)” underscores the worsening multidimensional poverty in Nigeria and the declining purchasing power of citizens due to rising costs of goods and services.
The survey reveals that Nigerian households experience an average of 6.7 power blackouts per week. While 82.2 percent of urban households have access to electricity, only 40.4 percent of rural households do. Cooking methods remain largely traditional, with 65 percent of households using three-stone stoves and 70.2 percent relying on wood for fuel, although the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is increasing.
Food insecurity remains a significant issue. Two out of three households reported being unable to afford healthy, nutritious, or preferred meals in the past 30 days. Many households—63.8 percent—ate limited varieties of food due to financial constraints, while 62.4 percent expressed worry about not having enough food. Additionally, 60.5 percent ate less than they believed necessary. Between the previous survey and this one, the proportion of households worried about food shortages due to lack of money rose from 36.9 percent to 62.4 percent.
Access to water, sanitation, and waste management facilities remains inadequate. Many households lack proper toilet facilities and rely on tube wells or boreholes for drinking water. Waste disposal is largely informal, with 45.6 percent of households using bushes or streets.
Asset ownership has declined since 2018/2019, although two-thirds of households own mobile phones, and 21.3 percent have internet access. Regarding housing, 70.4 percent of households own their homes, with rural ownership at 80.1 percent compared to 49.1 percent in urban areas.
The findings reflect the ongoing challenges faced by households across the country, highlighting the need for effective measures to address food insecurity, energy shortages, and living conditions.
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