Addressing nutrient and diet affordability gaps for families in Urban Kenya: Insights from Busia Kenya.

 30 Sept 2025 – This policy brief, produced by CISL, Save the Children (UK and Kenya), examines costs and affordability of nutritious diets for typical households with children aged 6–23 months in Busia Kenya, and highlights strategies for addressing diet affordability gaps for families with young children.

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About

Diet affordability is a major barrier to accessing nutritious diets in urban areas, but data are limited in small towns in Kenya. This brief presents findings from a cost of diet survey in Busia Town Municipality that collected retail prices per 100g for over 200 foods and their typical consumption by families, and assessed diet affordability and potential intervention impacts using Cost of Diet software.

Results show that most families cannot afford healthy diets aligned with national recommendations, and that very-low-income families cannot afford the cheapest nutritious diet. Iron, calcium, vitamin B12, fat and zinc are the most expensive and difficult nutrients to meet for families.

Modelling suggests that current nutrition-specific interventions alone cannot close diet affordability gaps. Income-enhancing strategies – such as employment and universal child benefits – are essential.

Urgent, bold multisectoral action is needed to boost incomes and access to affordable healthy diets for all.

Citing this report 

Nabwire, Florence, Schofield, Lilly, Njiru, James, Ooko, George, Wanyonyi, Abraham, Nabade, Scholastic, Moturi, Frank, and Whitfield, Stephen (2025). Addressing nutrient and diet affordability gaps for families in Urban Kenya: Insights from Busia Municipality, Kenya. Cambridge, UK; Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.