A new report from the Cadre Harmonisé, an analysis on food and nutrition security, predicts a severe hunger crisis affecting an estimated 133.1 million Nigerians by 2025, as reported by Vanguard on Friday, November 8, 2024.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced the findings yesterday, highlighting the challenges posed by economic hardship, high inflation, climate impacts, and ongoing violence in the northeastern region.

According to the report, the analysis, conducted by Nigeria’s federal government with support from the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, and other international partners, warns of deteriorating food security across the country.

The FAO’s statement reads: “The food and nutrition insecurity analysis, Cadre Harmonisé, led by the government of Nigeria and supported by partners, alerts on the deterioration of food security in Nigeria, with 133.1 million people expected to face high levels of food insecurity in the next lean season (June-August).”

This forecast marks an increase of seven million more Nigerians facing hunger compared to the previous year. Economic hardship, compounded by inflation rates that hit record levels—40.9% for food and 34.2% overall by June 2024—has contributed to this escalating crisis.

Persistent violence in northeastern states and climate-related challenges have also worsened the country’s food insecurity.

The report further indicates that the number of Nigerians experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity, or Phase 4 on the Cadre Harmonisé scale, will likely increase.

The figure is projected to rise from one million people at the peak of the 2024 lean season to 1.8 million people in 2025, representing an 80% increase. However, no populations are currently classified at the highest level, Phase 5, or “catastrophe.”

For vulnerable groups, including children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, the outlook is particularly dire.

The report estimates that approximately 5.4 million children and 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women across six states—Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe in the northeast, along with Sokoto, Katsina, and Zamfara in the northwest—are at risk of malnutrition or wasting.

Of these children, 1.8 million are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and require urgent nutritional interventions.

Dr. Temitope Fashedemi, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, represented by Dr. Nuhu Kilishi Mohammed, Director of Nutrition and Food Security, emphasized the importance of the Cadre Harmonisé findings during a presentation of the report.

He recommended that the government, in collaboration with federal ministries, departments, agencies, and partners, use the results as a guide for addressing food and nutrition security issues across the nation.

In his remarks, FAO Representative ad interim in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dominique Koffy Kouacou, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to providing long-term solutions.

“Working closely with our partners, FAO is dedicated to implementing durable solutions that tackle the underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition.

By enhancing agri-food systems, we strive to meet urgent needs, while promoting long-term, sustainable progress for communities,” Kouacou stated.

WFP Country Director David Stevenson stressed the urgency of addressing Nigeria’s hunger crisis, which is exacerbated by ongoing conflicts.

He said, “Restoring peace in the northeast is critical for us to build pathways to production and achieve the northeast’s potential as the food basket of the country.”

UNICEF’s Country Representative, Cristian Munduate, highlighted the crisis’ impact on children, stating, “Children are at the center of the food insecurity crisis and face irreversible consequences, both physical and cognitive, and potentially even death. It is our moral imperative to ensure that the right of every child to adequate food and nutrition is upheld.”

The United Nations, in light of the report, has called on the Nigerian government, donors, and stakeholders to allocate resources and enact strategies to prevent a looming disaster. Immediate, multi-sectoral support is seen as crucial to avoiding a full-blown food and nutrition crisis across Nigeria.