Monitoring the Impacts of COVID-19 on Affordable Diets: Real-Time Cost of the Diet and Household Economic Analysis pilot Zinder, Niger Results Brief

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted food supply chains and economic systems worldwide. With countries facing disrupted livelihoods, restricted movements, disrupted markets, border closures and rising food prices, this study aimed to understand how these disruptions may have impacted cost and affordability of the diet.

The pilot was conducted in Malawi and Niger. It aimed to leverage existing price data to adapt the HEA and CotD methodologies for real-time monitoring of the cost and affordability of a nutritious diet changes over time in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Malawi, the pilot used secondary price monitoring data while in Niger, primary data using a reduced food list as used.

This brief presents key learnings for policy makers and technical learnings for practitioners.