Report Reveals 31.8 Million Nigerians Suffer from Acute Food Insecurity
A recent report has disclosed that a staggering 31.8 million Nigerians are experiencing acute food insecurity, aggravating the prevalence of malnutrition among women and children in the country. The Cadre Harmonise report for 2024 attributes this dire situation to the surge in food commodity prices, which is a direct result of the removal of fuel subsidies. Furthermore, security challenges in food production areas have only compounded the problem, leaving millions of Nigerians in a perilous state.
Various development partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), GAIN, GIZ, and Agsys, highlighted these alarming findings during a joint review meeting on the implementation of food systems in Nigeria from August 26th to 27th, 2024. They emphasized the urgent need for a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach to address the manifold challenges facing the country’s food security. Civil society organizations and the private sector were also deemed crucial in extending the reach of nutrition efforts.
The partners expressed their unwavering commitment to transforming the food system in Nigeria, acknowledging the pivotal role of development partners like GIZ and others in spearheading positive change. The meeting, presided over by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi, aimed to evaluate the progress of implementation and allow various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to give presentations and updates on their efforts towards food system transformation in Nigeria.
Dr. Sanjo Faniran, the National Convenor of Food Systems in Nigeria and Director of Social Development in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders for their unwavering dedication in driving the food system forward in Nigeria. He emphasized that the review meeting served not only as a platform to identify gaps, successes, and challenges but also to offer recommendations and conduct peer reviews among MDAs.
The technical session of the meeting featured presentations covering topics such as the overview of food systems transformation implementation strategy, enhancing multi-sectoral collaboration for food systems transformation, financing, and resource mobilization for food systems transformation by the FAO, and youth engagement in food systems. A total of 24 MDAs were present at the review meeting.