Yesterday, two United Nations food agencies warned that millions more people could face famine, as funding cuts worsen the already worrisome conditions in many parts of the world. The agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, and the World Food Programme, WFP, revealed this in recent statements.

Nigeria made this list, alongside other countries of high concern such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, and Syria, as well as Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya, and refugees in Bangladesh. Statistical reports provide some heavy pointers to this listing.

First, the Global Hunger Index reports that Nigeria currently ranks 115th out of 123 countries plagued with acute food insecurity, with a score of 32.8. More data from the GHI reveals that, from 2022-2024, there was a 19.9 percent prevalence of undernourishment in Nigeria’s population. Meanwhile, in 2022, this figure was reported at 12.7 percent, indicating over seven percent growth in food insecurity in the country. These statistics mark Africa’s most populous nation as high risk and raise global concerns about the dangers of the prevalence of acute food insecurity in the country.

In 2024, an estimated 26.5 million Nigerians were also recorded to be facing acute food insecurity, according to the Food Agriculture Organisation, FAO. Further, in June 2024, around 11 million Nigerian children were reported to be experiencing severe child food poverty by UNICEF.

Executive Director Cindy McCain warned via the WFP, shed light on the dangers of these numbers, “We are on the brink of a completely preventable hunger catastrophe that threatens widespread starvation in multiple countries,” and that a failure to act “will only drive further instability, migration and conflict.”

Also Read: NDLEA clamps down on sales of sachet and bottle alcohol

Lack of proper funding and national insecurity are the top factors linked to the high increase in levels of hunger in the countries affected by food insecurity, and Nigeria is not exempted. Up to 26 states are affected by the killings of farmers, devastating floods, and heavy rainfall, especially the major food producers of the nation, according to data from the FAO. These contribute heavily to the rise in hunger rates. 

Food Agriculture Organisation, FAO, also warned that efforts to protect agricultural livelihoods were being threatened, “which are essential for stabilising food production and preventing recurring crises.”

Funding was needed for seeds and livestock health services, it said, “before planting seasons begin or new shocks occur.”

The Business Day newspaper showed the impact of the alarm on the country, and children were shown to be the most vulnerable to the crisis. Levels of child wasting rose to 11.6 percent in the country from 2022 to 2024, with 10.5 percent of the same population dying before age five. Another report indicated that Nigeria faced high rates of child malnutrition, with about 37 percent of children under five experiencing stunted growth.

Food security continues to attract global concern, and something has to be done before its impact is uncontrollable.

Meiza Nigeria