The World Bank estimates that at least 64 million Nigerians need emergency food and nutritional assistance as a result of the concomitant effects of growing inflation and climate change, among other things.
According to the United Nations World Food Programme, there are approximately 24.8 million Nigerians who are acutely hungry, a sign of rising food insecurity and a pervasive system of privation.
This was disclosed in the most recent food security update from the bank, which our correspondent was able to get. It was headlined “Food Security update: World Bank Response to Rising Food Insecurity.”
In West Africa and Central Africa, there are approximately 107.5 million people who live in a stressed state and may experience a food crisis if further disruptions to the present farming season occur.
This new estimate is nearly twice as large as the 27 million people that Oxfam, ALIMA, and Save the Children previously anticipated would be affected by food crises in West Africa, including Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali, and Nigeria.
The Global Report on Food Crises began in 2017, and according to the report, the number of individuals experiencing a crisis and worse acute food insecurity was the greatest ever.
The bank went on to say that rising food prices restrict households’ access to enough nutrient-dense food due to ongoing trade barriers, high transit costs, the effects of the Ukraine War, and currency devaluation in coastal nations.
Prices for the main primary foods in West Africa are typically 25% to 40% higher now than they were five years ago.
Furthermore, it claimed that the region’s food systems are losing productivity due to the acceleration of climate change.
Food prices had been steadily rising, according to reports.
According to the Food issue Prevention Network, the current food and nutrition security issue is being exacerbated by civil unrest, high inflation, and climate change.
