Global indicators on the costs of healthy diets and how many people can’t afford them
The Food and Agriculture Organization has released a comprehensive dataset tracking the cost and affordability of healthy diets globally, revealing that billions of people cannot afford nutritious food despite having access to sufficient calories. This report highlights a critical gap in global food security: while caloric needs are often met, the high price of nutrient-rich foods prevents many from achieving true nourishment, with the most affordable healthy diets still costing a significant portion of average household income in numerous regions. The data underscores the urgent need to move beyond simple calorie provision toward policies that ensure dietary diversity and quality. By identifying that a large majority of the population in many countries cannot regularly afford a healthy diet, the findings serve as a powerful benchmark for accountability. This shift in focus is essential for addressing malnutrition in all its forms, including deficiencies and obesity, which are driven not just by scarcity but by the economic barriers to accessing varied, nutrient-dense food groups. For the open data community, this initiative is significant because it institutionalizes a rigorous, comparable methodology for monitoring nutrition affordability across 245 countries. By making these indicators publicly available on FAOSTAT, the FAO enables researchers, policymakers, and developers to integrate this critical dimension into broader food system analyses. This open access facilitates evidence-based advocacy and allows stakeholders to track progress toward sustainable nutrition goals, fostering transparency and informed decision-making at global and subnational levels.
Source: fao.orgPublished on 2023-03-02