Nigeria Situation Report, 18 July 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

• Food and nutrition crisis leaves people desperately in need of assistance.

• Poor rains threaten farming activities in Borno, Yobe states.

• 1.6 million school-aged children need access to education in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states.

BACKGROUND

Situation Overview

Food and nutrition crisis leaves people desperately in need of assistance

The BAY States went through the second month (June) of an early onset lean season which was anticipated to be the worst lean period compared to the past five years. According to the June 2023 humanitarian situation monitoring by the REACH initiative, the levels of acute malnutrition among new arrivals from hard-to-reach areas in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states is critical (IPC acute malnutrition phase 4), with an overall global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 19 per cent. GAM rates above 10 per cent indicate a severe situation of high public health concern and immediate actions must be taken. The high levels of acute malnutrition indicate an extremely stressed population in relation to food security, with poor water and sanitation access, and poor health conditions as the key underlying causes.

The number of severely acutely malnourished children with medical complications admitted into treatment programmes across the BAY states on average increased by 19 per cent as of June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The 4,130 severely malnourished children who received in-patient care in June 2023 implied a 30 per cent increase from May 2023 and a 28 per cent increase when compared to June 2022. Similarly, there was a 42 per cent increase in the number of admissions for moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) in June compared to the previous month. This was largely due to the scale-up of the MAM treatment programme in Borno and Yobe.

The rising food inflation in Nigeria has compounded the hunger and malnutrition crisis across the BAY States. The consumer price index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, rose by 22.79 per cent in June 2023 up from 22.41 per cent in the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This was the sixth consecutive rise in the country’s inflation rate this year.

On 30 July, hundreds of people broke into warehouses belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Adamawa State and carted away relief materials, including stacks of grain, cartons of pasta and other goods. Stores and shops belonging to private individuals were also looted. The Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, immediately declared a curfew to curb the potential security threat. The federal government also deployed soldiers to guard other state-owned warehouses across the country.

In mid-July, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu announced a state of emergency to address the rising food prices and shortages. Some of the initiatives the president proposed include using money saved from the removal of a fuel subsidy to provide fertiliser and grain to farmers, as well as increased protection for farmers, most of whom have abandoned their farmlands due to heightened attacks, killings and kidnapping. On 31 July, President Tinubu also announced a 500 billion Naira ($652 million) package which will be used to provide conditional grants to at least one million small and medium enterprises in the country.

Humanitarian actors in north-east Nigeria appealed for US$396.1 million in May for the lean season Multi-Sector Food and Nutrition Plan. This is a highly prioritised part of the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for north-east Nigeria, to implement a multisector response to the alarming food security and nutrition crisis. This plan is 51 per cent funded as of 12 August 2023. Additional resources are urgently required.

Poor rains threaten farming activities in Borno, Yobe states

Farmers in Borno and part of Yobe State are raising the alarm about drought that could impede this year’s harvest. Farmers in Maiduguri metropolitan area, Jere, Konduga, Kaga and Mafa local government areas (LGAs) of Borno States and Fika, Giedam, Yunusari, and Yunusari LGAs of Yobe State states that rains have been significantly less than expected. The rainy season in Nigeria is from April to October. This year’s poor rains threaten agricultural production and may exacerbate food insecurity and poverty undermining the efforts of the Government and humanitarian partners to address the needs of conflict-affected people.

The poor rains coupled with frequent attacks on farmers by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) are threatening agricultural activities in the region at a time of alarming levels of hunger and malnutrition. The Government is exploring expanding its agricultural support programme to mitigate the impact. Humanitarian actors in the food security sector are providing improved seedlings and technical support to farmers to improve agricultural production. Food security partners have reached 142,000 people in the BAY states with agricultural livelihood interventions as of the end of July. This is aimed at boosting local food production and nutrition while strengthening the capacity and resilience of local farmers to prepare for and cope with the lean season. However, 3.4 million people are still in need of agricultural livelihood support across the BAY states.

1.6 million school-aged children need access to education in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states

There is an urgent need to tackle the challenge of out-of-school children in the BAY states. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently announced that 1.6 million school-aged children in the three states lack access to education. About 72 per cent of school children are also not able to read simple text after grade six, according to UNICEF.

Persistent insecurity and continued displacement are some of the key factors hampering access to both formal and non-formal education services in north-east Nigeria. There is also a lack of qualified teachers in the schools in the region. Only 29 per cent of schools have teachers with teaching qualifications, and the average teacher-pupil ratio is 1 to 124 across the region, against the Nigerian Government's recommended ratio of 1 to 35 for effective teaching and learning in primary schools.

To address these challenges, the Borno State Government has constructed so-called ‘mega schools’ in Maiduguri to accommodate more pupils. The schools have adopted the shift method allowing students to attend either morning or afternoon classes. These initiatives are aimed at mitigating overcrowding in classrooms.

The State Government also announced plans to recruit 5,000 teachers to improve the quality of education in the State. To ensure the safety of students, teachers and schools, the federal government also unveiled a 144.8 billion Naira (about $190 million) comprehensive investment plan to fund safe schools in the country.

Humanitarian organizations in north-east Nigeria are also providing education interventions to complement the government’s efforts. UNICEF recently supported the training of 18,000 unqualified teachers in the BAY States while collaborating with other organizations to grant out-of-school children across the BAY states access to both formal and non-formal education. Humanitarian partners in the education sector have reached 500,000 of the 1.1 million children targeted for education activities this year. Funding remains the main challenge to creating educational access for more children. The education sector has received only 5 per cent of the $94 million required for its response in 2023.