Attachments
Overview
Key messages
• In 2023, the number of food insecure people in Nigeria was the second highest globally - 24.8 million people faced hunger at crisis or worse levels.
• The solution to the surging hunger in Nigeria begins with peace and improved agricultural productivity - the northern states once known as the food basket for Nigeria and the West Africa region, can be supported to meet Nigeria’s food needs again.
• WFP’s CSP (2023 - 2027) and the accompanying food systems strategy (titled Out of Conflict into Solutions) position WFP as a key partner for both emergency food assistance and sustainable solutions in Nigeria.
In 2023, WFP undertook an integrated array of initiatives aimed at supporting government efforts to address the root causes of hunger. Through strategic planning and an agile approach, WFP prioritised emergency food assistance in response to humanitarian crises while supporting investments for sustainable and shock-responsive food systems.
WFP activities mainstreamed gender, enhanced protection and accountability to affected populations, ensured environmental sustainability, and fostered partnerships while managing finances effectively.
Leveraging the institutional experience of providing widescale food assistance in Nigeria since 2016, WFP pivoted its strategy in the second edition of the Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027 to integrate nutrition and resilience-oriented initiatives aimed at building back stronger and more inclusive food systems in Nigeria, particularly in conflict-affected areas. This new CSP was implemented starting March 2023.
WFP provided support to the Government to mitigate chronic hunger for 24.8 million food-insecure people [1] - 34 percent of whom were internally displaced, returnees and host community members living in the northeastern and northwestern states where WFP operates. WFP delivered nutrition integrating life-saving assistance and livelihood-strengthening support to 2.4 million people. In line with Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) and the government’s renewed Hope Agenda, WFP supported communities in creating or rehabilitating over 1,700 communal livelihood assets. Recognising the gaps in leveraging the productive capacity of women in agriculture, WFP ensured gender was mainstreamed in the initiatives to enhance domestic production along the nodes of the agricultural value chain. WFP provided a package of resilience-integrated support to 55,198 smallholder farmers (of whom 59 percent were women). This included farm inputs, expanded linkages to agricultural extension facilities, and training on climate-smart agricultural best practices.
WFP’s support to stimulate local agricultural production extends beyond programmatic activities to its operational strategy - contributing over USD 175 million to the economy of Nigeria's agricultural sector. Ninety-five percent of the food distributed to vulnerable people through WFP activities in conflict-affected areas was locally purchased - comprising over USD 75.6 million. WFP also distributed USD 99.6 million through e-vouchers and direct cash transfers, improving the financial access to food from local markets for 1,162,723 food-insecure people living in conflict-affected areas.
Leveraging its comparative advantage, reputation and extensive network, WFP fostered relationships domestically and internationally with a diverse base of donors (including traditional and newly emerging donor countries, private individuals, and academic institutions). This strategic engagement facilitated the mobilisation of resources, including in-kind food, financial support, and technical expertise, which aimed at supporting the emergency needs of vulnerable people and assisting in revitalising domestic agricultural food systems. By strengthening government systems to mitigate developmental gaps through initiatives like rice fortification and digital cash transfers for social protection,
WFP amplified the scale and impact of its support.
To ensure assistance gets to the right people, WFP digitised all beneficiary registrations through the corporate beneficiary information and transfer management platform - SCOPE. By integrating SCOPE and the Payment Instrument Tracking (PIT) system to enhance beneficiary identity verification processes, WFP successfully transitioned away from paper-based vouchers. This advancement assures that all food assistance in 2023 was provided with transparency and can be tracked to the individual recipients.
WFP directly contributed to the wide-scale operationalisation of national priorities for food security through country capacity strengthening support. This entailed facilitating learning initiatives for government staff through the South-South and Triangular Cooperation, providing technical assistance and expertise to embed food and nutrition considerations into social security policies and programmes as well as facilitating the international transportation of potash donations for handover to the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.
Recognising the importance of gender equality, WFP integrated gender considerations across all programmes, including nutrition support for households with malnutrition-vulnerable members (including pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls and children aged 6 - 23 months) and empowerment initiatives for women and girls.
Through targeted training, advocacy, and community engagement, WFP promoted women's participation in household and communal decision-making processes.
Amid climate-related challenges and conflict-induced vulnerabilities, WFP integrated climate-smart measures to mitigate environmental degradation within its programming. This included providing training on climate-smart agricultural techniques for smallholder farmers, establishing tree nurseries with both nutritional and economic value, and distributing fuel-efficient stoves. Operationally, WFP integrated the monitoring for environmental and social risks into its workflow and commenced the transition from diesel generators to solar-generated power across its operations in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
WFP demonstrated agility, innovation, and commitment in addressing complex humanitarian challenges and advancing sustainable development goals in 2023. Looking ahead, WFP remains steadfast in its mission to save lives while creating lasting positive change and empowering communities to build an inclusive brighter future.