UN says 64.3million Nigerians lack sufficient food

According to the World Food Programme, a part of the United Nations, 32% (64.3 million) of Nigerians do not have access to enough food to eat.

According to the organisation, 170 million people do not have sufficient food to consume across 19 countries. In a March 28 update of the ‘HungerMapLIVE: Western Africa insights and key trends,’ the countries with the highest prevalence of insufficient food consumption are Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Liberia, Central African Republic, Togo, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria.

The World Bank said that over the past three months, food inadequacy in Nigeria increased from 29% to 32% in its most recent Food Security Update. It was noted that a significant portion of the populace of Nigeria and other West African nations have difficult food and nutrition conditions.

The bank cited the WFP when it stated that the four nations with the highest frequency of inadequate food consumption were Niger (18.2 million people, or 81 percent of the population), Mali (13.9 million, or 73 percent), Burkina Faso (13 million, or 66 percent), and Guinea (7.7 million, 62 per cent).

“Chad (9.2 million, 57 per cent), Sierra Leone (4.4 million, 53 per cent), Cameroon (10.2 million, 40 per cent), Liberia (1.7 million, 38 per cent), Central African Republic (1.6 million, 35 per cent), Togo (2.7 million, 34 per cent), Guinea-Bissau (0.6 million, 34 per cent), and Nigeria (64.7 million, 32 per cent).”

Poor or borderline food consumption, as indicated by the Food Consumption Score, is what the Global Bank defines as insufficient food consumption. It was clarified that it wasn't the same as food insecurity.

The Washington-based bank predicts that if the dry season continues in the next months, the situation with regard to food security in West Africa will get worse. While domestic food price inflation is still substantial, it was highlighted that it is especially problematic in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia.