Only the war-torn nations of Yemen and Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ethiopia have a higher proportion of their populations than Nigeria, according to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).
The international humanitarian organization regrets that one in three households in the nation cannot afford a nutritious diet and that over 100 million people report experiencing at least moderate food insecurity, despite Nigeria’s abundant natural resources and untapped human capital suggesting the potential to achieve zero hunger.
In its recently released Nigeria Country Strategic Plan (2023–2027), the WFP argued that urgent targeted humanitarian action was required to save lives and livelihoods, requiring both emergency responses and anticipatory action. The WFP estimated that at least 19.5 million people would need emergency assistance in 2022, and some communities in Nigeria’s conflict-affected north-east were projected to slide into catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Notwithstanding observable advancements toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Nigeria, it claimed, still had a ways to go before it met the ambitious goals of its commitments.
“Even though Nigeria moved into lower-middle income status in 2014, its immense human development potential remains unfulfilled, and its most vulnerable people continue to suffer critical levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, driven by persistent conflict, organized violence, and recurrent climate,” the World Food Program (WFP) stated.
“Only Yemen, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have a heavier global burden of people experiencing food crises or worse than the largest economy and most populated nation in Africa.
Targeted humanitarian action is urgently required to save lives and livelihoods, necessitating both emergency responses and proactive action. In 2022, at least 19.5 million people will need urgent assistance, and some communities in the conflict-affected northeast are projected to experience catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
The international humanitarian organization emphasized that the global food supply crisis has exacerbated the intensity and scope of the regionalized crises, impeding Nigeria’s ability to recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the organization disclosed its plan to increase humanitarian activities among Cameroonian refugees in border states as well as in the north and north-west.
“To meet the challenges presented by the situation, WFP will integrate its dual mandate in Nigeria through work at the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, applying targeted emergency responses that save lives while forging shock-responsive pathways to early recovery and sustainable, resilient food security,” it said. All of this is supported by the integration of nutrition, gender, climate change adaptation, and protection concerns into its changing-lives activities.
