Half a day’s pay for a healthy household diet in PNG

Survey data suggest that in Port Moresby (POM), feeding an entire household a nutritious diet for a single day requires 45% of a low-skill worker’s daily wage. The healthy diet burden eases somewhat outside of the capital: 41% in Kokopo, 38% in Lae and 37% in the Highlands. The reasons behind these regional differences are layered. In Lae, wages are relatively higher while food costs are lower compared to POM. In the Highlands, both wages and food prices are lower, resulting in roughly the same share of earnings needed for a healthy diet as in Lae even though the absolute numbers differ. On the other hand, Port Moresby faces higher healthy food costs and lower wages, particularly for informal wage workers.

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