A recent study conducted by Save the Children reveals that approximately one in six children in Nigeria, totaling 15.6 million, are confronting hunger as the lean season approaches, commencing in June.
The count of hungry children has surged by 25 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2023, likely attributed to escalating insecurity, prolonged conflict, banditry, and soaring food prices in the West African nation.
As per Save the Children’s examination of data from the Cadre Harmonisé—a regional system aimed at pinpointing food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa—nearly 32 million individuals in Nigeria, encompassing 15.6 million children, are anticipated to confront crisis-level hunger between June and August, unless they receive food and cash assistance.
Violent killings, attacks, and kidnappings by non-state armed groups and bandits in the country’s north have severely impacted food production, disrupted local markets, and forced farmers to abandon their farms. According to the Association of Nigerian Farmers, at least 165 farmers across Nigeria have been killed so far this year, with a concentration in Benue in the north-central region, identified by the UN as an emerging hotspot for conflicts between farmers and herders.
Duncan Harvey, Save the Children’s country director for Nigeria, emphasized the dire situation, stating, “Hunger exists nationwide, but the situation in the north, where violence is rife, is particularly dire. In Borno, Yobe, Katsina, and Zamfara, one in three children do not know where their next meal will come from.”
Harvey stressed the urgency of prioritizing children’s needs to halt the alarming trend and protect innocent lives. Without intervention, armed groups will likely continue to carry out brutal attacks, drive up food prices, and exacerbate starvation.
Save the Children highlights the severity of the situation, stating that at least 490,000 children, mostly in Borno and Katsina, are expected to face catastrophic levels of hunger, classified as IPC4. Hunger in Nigeria has sharply risen in recent years, from about seven percent of the population analyzed by the UN in 2020 to the current 15 percent.
In response, Save the Children urges governments at local, state, and national levels to focus on transforming food production and distribution and incentivizing farmers to cultivate crops resilient to climate change.
