The minimum cost of a healthy diet

Tackling chronic malnutrition effectively, and in particular improving the diet of children in the critical period up to the age of two years, remains a major challenge to the international community. Recent years have seen nutrition policy-makers focus heavily on addressing non-food related causes of malnutrition in developing countries (health status and caring practices), rather than tackling food insecurity.

In 2006, Save the Children initiated a pilot research programme to quantify the extent to which households could afford to feed their children under the age of 2, and a whole family of 5 people, with a diet meeting minimum requirements of macro and micronutrients. This report presents the findings relating to the cost and affordability of the cheapest possible diet in four study locations.

The approach that this work took: (i) attempting to determine the minimum cost and affordability of a diet for the whole family rather than just an individual child, (ii) taking into account seasonal variation in prices an availability of food and (iii) including costs and availability of food at the local level.

The specific research objectives were as follows:

1. to develop a methodology for estimating the cost of the diet for the family
2. to determine the minimum cost of a healthy diet by season in four locations
3. to determine the affordability of a healthy diet by household type and season in
   four locations.

The report found that in all the study locations, large proportions of children do not receive the frequency of feeding and dietary diversity they need. The findings also point to marked seasonal variation in costs, which has important implications for the cash flow of poor families who may not have a steady income through the year.

Backed by these and other research findings, Save the Children UK continues to call on:

• National governments and the international donor community to recognise that poverty is a critical cause of chronic malnutrition, and to therefore design accordingly interventions to address the economic constraints that limit poor people’s access to food.
• The international donor community to prioritise social protection programmes, including regular cash benefits to the poor
• Donors to pledge support to low-income countries wishing to implement
  programmes providing direct cash benefits to the poor, by putting in place innovative mechanisms for channelling long-term, predictable aid.