Making healthy diets more affordable is a priority for people around the world. Each day, about one out of three people struggles to access food that will meet their nutritional needs. FAO has focused attention and action on this problem by providing statistics on the Cost and Affordability of Healthy Diet (CoAHD) at the global level. This new initiative now aims to strengthen national capacity to track these statistics at country level and integrate them into evidence-based recommendations on optimal public policies and investments to improve the affordability of healthy diets.
In a nutshell
This new, FAO-led project supports selected countries in monitoring the cost and affordability of a healthy diet (CoAHD), equipping governments with the data needed to take policy action to reduce costs and improve access to healthy diets for their populations.
The project has two focus areas. First, FAO will work with national research institutes in 10 countries to establish their own systems to calculate and regularly report on CoAHD using food price and income data. Then, In four countries, FAO will work with national technical institutions and policy partners to leverage CoAHD data and FAO's Policy Optimization Tool (PolOpT) to identify how public spending can be optimally allocated across agrifood policy interventions and value chains to make healthy diets more affordable while also maintaining fiscal discipline and advancing other broader development goals.
Events
25/5
2026
Rome Nutrition Week 2026 | Connecting the Cost and Affordability of Healthy Diets to Agrifood System Investment Decisions
25/05/2026
On 25 May 2026, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) hosted a thematic session during Rome Nutrition Week exploring how the Cost and Affordability of Healthy Diets (CoAHD)
10/2
2026
Making healthy diets more affordable: moving forward to support countries
10/02/2026
Key reports
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The opportunity cost of not repurposing public expenditure in food and agriculture in sub‑Saharan African countries – Background paper for The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 24-07.
24/10/2024
In this paper, an innovative policy optimization tool (PolOpT) helps us assess what would happen if the limited budget allocated to the crops and livestock sectors in six of the sub-Saharan African countries were reallocated optimally across different policy support measures and subsectors/commodities, under the same budget constraints.
Variations in the subnational cost and affordability of a healthy diet for selected countries in Africa – Background paper for The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper, No. 23-10.
11/12/2023
This background paper to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023 presents an innovative analysis of within-country variability of the cost and affordability of a healthy diet (CoAHD).
Methods and options to monitor the cost and affordability of a healthy diet globally. Background paper for The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 22-03.
22/07/2022
This background paper presents the new methodological refinements applied in the estimation of the average cost of a healthy diet. This is an important methodological update as it results in a more robust indicator that provides greater transparency and supports long-term systematic monitoring utilizing annually updated price data. The paper then explores potential mechanisms and data sources for monitoring globally the cost of a healthy diet.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022. Repurposing food and agricultural policies to make healthy diets more affordable.
14/06/2022
This FAO flagship publication looks at the repurposing food and agricultural policies to make healthy diets more affordable.
Funded by
'Gates Foundation' is a registered trademark of the Gates Foundation in the United States and is used with permission.
With the support of
Related links
- FAO Statistics
- FAO Agrifood Economics and Policy
- FAOSTAT | Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (CoAHD)
- MAFAP programme
- Policy Optimization Tool (PolOpT)
FAO's work on affordable healthy diets helps countries to monitor Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) to end hunger and achieve food security and improved nutrition.
