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A new report by the World Food Programme (WFP) has shown that 64.3 million Nigerians or about 32 per cent of the population do not have enough food to consume. The report says in 19 countries in West Africa, about 170 million people are facing acute food shortage. This is contained in the organisation’s latest food security update, ‘Hunger Map Live West African Insights and key trends.’
The World Bank defines insufficient food consumption as poor or borderline food consumption. It is determined by food consumption score and it is different from food insecurity, which is lack of access to availability of nutritional and safe food. Lack of adequate food to consume and limited access to nutritionally balanced and safe food are obstacles to a healthy population and human development.
Apart from Nigeria, other countries in the West African sub-region with prevalence of insufficient food consumption include Niger Republic with 18.2 million or 81 per cent of its population, Mali, 13.9 million people or 73 per cent, Burkina Faso, 13 million people or 66 per cent, Guinea, 7.7 million people affected or 62 per cent.
The rest are Chad, 9.2million or 57 per cent of the total population, Sierra Leone, 4.4 million or 53 per cent, Cameroon, 10.2 million of the citizens or 40 per cent, Central Africa Republic 1.6million or 35 per cent, Liberia and Guinea Bissau, at 38 per cent and 34 per cent of its population, respectively, and Togo where 34 per cent of the population or 2.7 million people are affected.
For Nigeria, the World Bank report said food insufficiency increased from 29 per cent to 32 per cent in the last three months. Considering that the food challenge will impact negatively on food and nutrition situation of the people, the government and its development partners should tackle it immediately.
Nigeria is already battling with slow economic growth, multidimensional poverty, debt burden, unemployment, rising inflation, high food prices, insecurity, among other socio-economic challenges. Many African countries are equally facing the same problem.
According to World Bank new figures, food insufficiency in West African countries is expected to worsen this year as the dry season progresses in the months ahead. Also, the domestic food price inflation is likely to remain high. With Nigeria’s inflation currently at 21.9 per cent, food prices are already on the upswing.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation rate, has shown that food prices reached unprecedented level in February 2023. And for the third consecutive year, West African countries are reported to be facing a major food and nutrition crisis. Not less than 14.4 million and 23.7 million people were in dire need of food assistance in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Besides, about 33.4 million people were in food crisis or worse during the lean season that characterised the larger part of 2022.
The United Nations and others have predicted that millions of people in sub-Saharan countries will experience acute food shortage, more complex than ever seen in decades. Also, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) indicates that one in five Africans or 278 million of the continent’s population are already facing hunger.
Conflict has long been a major driver of hunger, and many West African countries have been experiencing conflicts. The number of displaced persons caused by conflict tripled in the last few years. Civilians have been displaced from their ancestral homes, livelihoods, farms and food sources, all leading to food insufficiency and food insecurity.
Climate change and land degradation have contributed to food crisis in West Africa. To ameliorate the situation, the governments of West African countries can initiate policies that will support Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Nigeria must also scale up efforts to curb rising inflation, food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition.
Currently, about 2 million children in Nigeria are suffering from severe malnutrition. According to West and Central Africa Nutrition working group, about 6.2 million children, aged 6 to 59 months in West Africa suffer from malnutrition, and about 900,000 of them are at risk of dying before they reach 3 years.
Emergency response to the food challenge must include good governance, social development programmes, agricultural projects that will strengthen and promote food distribution. Smallholder farmers should be assisted through the provision of quality seedlings, equipment, livestock and other credit facility that will increase food production and enhance the food supply chain. If these measures are implemented, there will be enough food for the people to consume.
