‘17.7m Nigerians Hungry, 1m Others Face Acute Food Insecurity’

Around 17.7 million Nigerians are currently experiencing hunger, and this number could rise to 25 million if urgent action is not taken.

Approximately one million people face acute food insecurity, meaning they are unsure where their next meal will come from.

This concerning information was shared by Nkeiru Enwelum, a Nutrition Officer from UNICEF, during a two-day media dialogue on nutrition financing in Nigeria, organized by the Child Rights Information Bureau (CRIB) in collaboration with UNICEF.

Enwelum highlighted that Lagos, Borno, Katsina, and Kano have the highest numbers of food-insecure individuals in Nigeria, and she expressed deep concern about the widespread issue of malnutrition in the country.

She also mentioned that while Nigeria might make progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) related to exclusive breastfeeding by 2030, it remains off-track in achieving SDG2, which pertains to zero hunger.

Furthermore, Enwelum emphasized that approximately 35 million children in Nigeria are malnourished, making Nigeria the African country with the highest number of affected children and the second highest globally,of these children, 12 million are stunted.

The main factors contributing to this high burden of malnutrition include poverty, lack of awareness, and inadequate budget allocation for nutrition.

UNICEF Communication Specialist, Geoffrey Njoku, expressed concern that federal and state governments in Nigeria do not allocate sufficient funds to address the increasing levels of malnutrition.

He stressed the importance of closing funding gaps through local resource mobilization and raising awareness through media channels.

International organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO) are collaborating to address child malnutrition affecting millions of children in the region.