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Nigeria

Nigeria: Food Security Outlook Update - March 2012

Attachments

Persistent civil insecurity in the north is limiting food flows to affected areas

Key messages

  • Current price and conflict shocks are leading to acute food insecurity. However, the number of food-insecure people is fewer than 20 percent of the population in most areas. No information about significant changes in acute malnutrition is available, and there is no indication of unusually high prevalence of negative livelihood strategies.

  • Civil strife in the extreme north is limiting normal market flows for food, causing increased cereal prices, and disrupting commerce, access to services, and labor opportunities.

  • Formal border closures are still in effect with Niger and Chad, further exacerbating the Sahelian food crisis. Small scale, informal cross-border trade with neighboring Sahelian countries such as Niger and Chad is ongoing, limiting grain, affecting terms of trade, and livestock flows within the subregion.