Cost of the Diet

This individual commissions an assessment based on an understanding of why and where it is needed as a result of knowledge of the local environment and its effects on food production, diet, nutrition and livelihoods. The Assessment Leader typically works in the field of food security and/or nutrition.

This individual can also be the Assessment Leader (same person), but may be a hired consultant or a senior member of staff. The Practitioner trains the data collectors, oversees data collection, analyses the data and writes the final report. Depending on the knowledge and capacity of the agency or country office commissioning the assessment, the Practitioner maybe required to provide support planning the assessment, such as defining the objectives and the scope of the study. It is recommended that assessments be conducted by certified Cost of Diet Practitioners. This will ensure that the data are collected, analysed and reported to a consistent standard.

These individuals will be hired locally from the specific assessment area and will speak the local language. Data Collectors collect the market survey data, and conduct interviews and focus group discussions.

This individual organises the recruitment of Data Collectors and makes practical arrangements for data collection. The Assessment Administrator should be based in and have a very good knowledge of the assessment area. If the assessment is being conducted in an area new to the agency, it may be necessary to identify and seek support from a local partner organisation. Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Gaining permission from Food Market Managers to visit and interview traders
• Booking the training venue, hotel and transport for the team
• Ordering stationary and equipment

Cost of the Diet assessments are designed to be undertaken in an area with similar livelihoods and market access. Livelihood zones, as defined using the process outlined in the Household Economy Analysis (HEA Analysis), are the most common way to define an assessment area for a CotD assessment, though administrative units have also been used.

Before data collection begins, a detailed list of all foods (local, imported, grown and wild) available at any time during the year is compiled. This list is used as the basis for the market survey and interview questionnaire

A market survey is conducted in 6-8 markets, representative of the assessment area or livelihood zone, where the poorest households purchase their food from. Price and weight data of all foods in the market is collected for each season. Market traders are asked questions about annual trends in prices, seasonality and changes in the demand and supply of commodities. These results are converted into a price per 100g which is entered into the software.

Focus group discussions (FGD) are conducted in 4 villages in order to create a nutritious diet that considers typical dietary habits. Each FGD should consist of 8 participants; 2 from each wealth group identified by the HEA. All participants should be those responsible for preparing food for the household. The interview questionnaire is based upon the food list generated before and during the market survey and aims to determine how often foods are consumed when they are in season. Questions are based on observations from the market data, comments from traders and responses to the questionnaire. Information is collected on key staples, household food production, ‘normal’ consumption patterns, cultural taboos and wild foods consumed.

Applied constraints are intended to reflect typical dietary patterns rather than economic constraints, as Cost of the Diet is a tool used to illustrate a diet that could be achieved if economic limits were removed.

Estimating the affordability of the diets by wealth group using HEA income and expenditure data can be used to identify those most at risk of insufficient economic access to a nutritious diet and, thus, most in need of food security and/or nutrition interventions.

This vital diet affordability data can also be used to estimate the size of cash transfers for social protection programmes intended to have an impact on nutrition. For example, a Cost of the Diet analysis in Lindi district, Tanzania, found that families in the poorest wealth group could not afford a nutritious diet, estimating that 115% of their total income would be needed to meet their energy and nutrient requirements.
One of the most innovative aspects of the CotD software is that potential interventions can be modelled to estimate their impact on improving the quality and the affordability of the diet. These results can be used to inform and influence nutrition and food security policies and programmes and contribute to both advocacy processes and debates at local, national and global levels.

Example: A CotD analysis in Pakistan found that iron and zinc requirements could not be met by local foods for a 9-11 month old child. The impact of giving this child a sachet of micronutrient sprinkles twice a year for 30 days, six months apart on the quality of the diet was modelled. The software estimated that all the nutrient requirements for the child could be met and the cost of the diet could be reduced by 60% as a result of this intervention.

Regular CotD assessments can be used help understand changes in food and nutrition insecurity in particular contexts and can act as early warning indicators within food security and nutrition early warning systems.
A CotD analysis is most useful when chronic undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies have been identified as nutritional problems and when the availability or affordability of nutritious foods are likely to be among the underlying causes.

A Cost of the Diet assessment is most useful when chronic malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies have been identified as a nutritional problem and the availability or affordability of nutritious foods are likely to be among the underlying causes. Once data collectors are trained and communities mobilised, cost of the diet assessments can be completed on a regular basis. Assessments can be done as part of a situation analysis in order to understand the causes of malnutrition. In addition regular assessments can also be incorporated into nutrition/food security surveillance systems