The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and its partners has recently disclosed that around 16% of Nigerians will face severe food insecurity or hunger between June and August 2024.
According to the report, the total number of people across West and Central Africa to face food insecurity during the period also referred to as the lean season stands at a staggering 52 million- about 12% of the analysed population.
The figure for 2024 is higher when compared to the report for 2023 and denotes the increasing spate of hunger and the worsening living conditions across not just Nigeria but West and Central Africa.
For Nigeria, the report noted that around 32 million people will face severe hunger put at crisis level or emergency food insecurity.
Part of the statement reads: “Looking ahead, the projected outlook for the period June-August 2024 appears even more severe: nearly 52 million people across the 17 analyzed countries are anticipated to face phases 3 to 5 during the lean season of June-August. This translates to 12% of the analyzed population struggling to meet their basic food and nutrition requirements.”
Furthermore, the report noted that food insecurity would be more severe in the northern states of Sokoto and Zamfara where the IPC analysis described the situation as critical, with over 15% of children experiencing acute malnutrition.
The IRC attributed the cause of the severity of food insecurity across the Sahelian region to insecurity, climate change, and worsening macroeconomic conditions, especially on the inflationary front.
While the Boko Haram insurgency greatly affected food production in the Northeast leading to the destruction of farmlands, the farmer-herder crisis and banditry have significantly affected food production across the Northwest and North Central regions.
Insecurity coupled with disruptions in global food supply chains has pushed food inflation in Nigeria to 40.01% in the month of March.