Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam

Background: Governments around the world collect food price data on a frequent basis, often monthly, for the purpose of monitoring inflation. These routine economic data can be used with a nutrition-sensitive lens for understanding economic access to a healthy diet. The Food and Agriculture Organiza...

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Main Authors: Anna W Herforth, Rachel Gilbert, Kristina Sokourenko, Tehreem Fatima, Olutayo Adeyemi, Dawit Alemayehu, Eunice Arhin, Fantu Bachewe, Yan Bai, Imran Chiosa, Tirsit Genye, Hagos Haile, Raja Jahangeer, Joyce Kinabo, Fulgence Mishili, Chioma D Nnabugwu, John Nortey, Bernice Ofosu-Baadu, Adeyinka Onabolu, Daniel Bruce Sarpong, Masresha Tessema, Duong TT Van, Aishwarya Venkat, William A Masters
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-10-01
Series:Current Developments in Nutrition
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2475299124023758
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author Anna W Herforth
Rachel Gilbert
Kristina Sokourenko
Tehreem Fatima
Olutayo Adeyemi
Dawit Alemayehu
Eunice Arhin
Fantu Bachewe
Yan Bai
Imran Chiosa
Tirsit Genye
Hagos Haile
Raja Jahangeer
Joyce Kinabo
Fulgence Mishili
Chioma D Nnabugwu
John Nortey
Bernice Ofosu-Baadu
Adeyinka Onabolu
Daniel Bruce Sarpong
Masresha Tessema
Duong TT Van
Aishwarya Venkat
William A Masters
author_facet Anna W Herforth
Rachel Gilbert
Kristina Sokourenko
Tehreem Fatima
Olutayo Adeyemi
Dawit Alemayehu
Eunice Arhin
Fantu Bachewe
Yan Bai
Imran Chiosa
Tirsit Genye
Hagos Haile
Raja Jahangeer
Joyce Kinabo
Fulgence Mishili
Chioma D Nnabugwu
John Nortey
Bernice Ofosu-Baadu
Adeyinka Onabolu
Daniel Bruce Sarpong
Masresha Tessema
Duong TT Van
Aishwarya Venkat
William A Masters
author_sort Anna W Herforth
collection DOAJ
description Background: Governments around the world collect food price data on a frequent basis, often monthly, for the purpose of monitoring inflation. These routine economic data can be used with a nutrition-sensitive lens for understanding economic access to a healthy diet. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has adopted the cost and affordability of a healthy diet (CoAHD) for annual tracking alongside other food security indicators. This indicator is relevant in many countries for informed decision-making and accountability toward Food Systems Summit pathways. National governments may wish to include this indicator in their own monitoring systems, using existing subnational price and income data. Objectives: We describe emerging systems in several countries for monitoring CoAHD and analytical tools that facilitate the calculation of CoAHD. We discuss reasons why the indicator may differ when calculated using subnational data compared with the global monitoring system and how to interpret differences. Methods: Between June 2016 and February 2024, 19 workshops were held in 7 countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam), where stakeholder discussions covered sources of food price data, institutions involved, policy uses, and direct training in calculation of CoAHD. Food price data collected by national organizations were used to calculate CoAHD in partnership with government agencies. Results: Calculating CoAHD using subnational data uses the same methods across settings, but the mechanisms for monitoring and dissemination are different in each country, illustrating heterogeneity in how the metric can most effectively be incorporated within existing structures. Results from national and global monitoring systems have expected differences based on data sources, healthy diet standards, and affordability standards. Conclusions: CoAHD can be calculated with existing data and resources, facilitated by new software tools and user tutorials. In the future, it can be further streamlined, leveraging technical assistance from global institutions and aligning national and global monitoring systems.
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spelling doaj-art-402de767f90d4157ae08d3ee8ae8b2792025-08-20T02:11:38ZengElsevierCurrent Developments in Nutrition2475-29912024-10-0181010444110.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104441Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet NamAnna W Herforth0Rachel Gilbert1Kristina Sokourenko2Tehreem Fatima3Olutayo Adeyemi4Dawit Alemayehu5Eunice Arhin6Fantu Bachewe7Yan Bai8Imran Chiosa9Tirsit Genye10Hagos Haile11Raja Jahangeer12Joyce Kinabo13Fulgence Mishili14Chioma D Nnabugwu15John Nortey16Bernice Ofosu-Baadu17Adeyinka Onabolu18Daniel Bruce Sarpong19Masresha Tessema20Duong TT Van21Aishwarya Venkat22William A Masters23Food Prices for Nutrition project, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States; Corresponding author.Food Prices for Nutrition project, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United StatesFood Prices for Nutrition project, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United StatesFAO Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan; World Bank, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NigeriaEthiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaMinistry of Food and Agriculture - Statistics, Research, and Information Directorate, Accra, GhanaInternational Food Policy Research Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDevelopment Data Group, the World Bank, Washington, DC, United StatesMalawi National Statistical Office, Zomba, MalawiInternational Food Policy Research Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaEthiopian Statistical Service, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaFAO Pakistan, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Human Nutrition and Consumer Studies, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, TanzaniaDepartment of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, TanzaniaGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Abuja, NigeriaMinistry of Food and Agriculture - Statistics, Research, and Information Directorate, Accra, GhanaGhana Statistical Service, Accra, GhanaGlobal Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Abuja, Nigeria; Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Abuja, NigeriaDepartment of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, GhanaEthiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaUniversity of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet NamFood Prices for Nutrition project, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United StatesFood Prices for Nutrition project, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United StatesBackground: Governments around the world collect food price data on a frequent basis, often monthly, for the purpose of monitoring inflation. These routine economic data can be used with a nutrition-sensitive lens for understanding economic access to a healthy diet. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has adopted the cost and affordability of a healthy diet (CoAHD) for annual tracking alongside other food security indicators. This indicator is relevant in many countries for informed decision-making and accountability toward Food Systems Summit pathways. National governments may wish to include this indicator in their own monitoring systems, using existing subnational price and income data. Objectives: We describe emerging systems in several countries for monitoring CoAHD and analytical tools that facilitate the calculation of CoAHD. We discuss reasons why the indicator may differ when calculated using subnational data compared with the global monitoring system and how to interpret differences. Methods: Between June 2016 and February 2024, 19 workshops were held in 7 countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam), where stakeholder discussions covered sources of food price data, institutions involved, policy uses, and direct training in calculation of CoAHD. Food price data collected by national organizations were used to calculate CoAHD in partnership with government agencies. Results: Calculating CoAHD using subnational data uses the same methods across settings, but the mechanisms for monitoring and dissemination are different in each country, illustrating heterogeneity in how the metric can most effectively be incorporated within existing structures. Results from national and global monitoring systems have expected differences based on data sources, healthy diet standards, and affordability standards. Conclusions: CoAHD can be calculated with existing data and resources, facilitated by new software tools and user tutorials. In the future, it can be further streamlined, leveraging technical assistance from global institutions and aligning national and global monitoring systems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2475299124023758food securityfood accessfood pricesfood price indexfood-based dietary guidelinesfood systems
spellingShingle Anna W Herforth
Rachel Gilbert
Kristina Sokourenko
Tehreem Fatima
Olutayo Adeyemi
Dawit Alemayehu
Eunice Arhin
Fantu Bachewe
Yan Bai
Imran Chiosa
Tirsit Genye
Hagos Haile
Raja Jahangeer
Joyce Kinabo
Fulgence Mishili
Chioma D Nnabugwu
John Nortey
Bernice Ofosu-Baadu
Adeyinka Onabolu
Daniel Bruce Sarpong
Masresha Tessema
Duong TT Van
Aishwarya Venkat
William A Masters
Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam
Current Developments in Nutrition
food security
food access
food prices
food price index
food-based dietary guidelines
food systems
title Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam
title_full Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam
title_fullStr Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam
title_full_unstemmed Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam
title_short Monitoring the Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet within Countries: Building Systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam
title_sort monitoring the cost and affordability of a healthy diet within countries building systems in ethiopia ghana malawi nigeria pakistan tanzania and viet nam
topic food security
food access
food prices
food price index
food-based dietary guidelines
food systems
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2475299124023758
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