Over 43.9 million Kenyans cannot afford a healthy diet, a rise of 9.6 million since 2017, a new UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report shows.

The cost of a healthy diet rose significantly since 2021 but the number of people unable to afford it declined to 2.69 billion, a drop of 280 million.

When healthy food becomes unaffordable, households shift toward cheaper nutrient-poor foods increasing risk of diabetes, hypertension and childhood stunting.