Nigeria Situation Report, 20 Apr 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

• An estimated 4.3 million people at risk of hunger in north-east Nigeria this lean season (June-August).

• Disease outbreaks stretch an already threadbare healthcare system.

• Adamawa State Government suspends NGO activities disrupting humanitarian operations in the state during elections.

• US$1.3 billion required to reach 6 million people in north-east Nigeria with humanitarian assistance in 2023.

BACKGROUND

Situation Overview

An estimated 4.3 million people are at risk of hunger in north-east Nigeria this lean season

An estimated 4.3 million people in north-east Nigeria are at risk of severe hunger at the peak of this year’s lean season (June-August) if urgent actions are not taken. This is according to the March 2023 Cadre Harmonisé (CH) food and nutrition analysis. The CH report projects that over half a million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States will face a food emergency during the projected period. Years of protracted conflict and violence continue to prevent many people in northeast Nigeria from growing the food they need or earning an income. In addition, the CH report identified the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) currency re-design policy among the key drivers of food insecurity, impacting on the functioning of markets.
The devastating 2022 floods that destroyed close to 700,000 hectares of farmland across 34 states also had a severe impact on food security. Very high levels of inflation of food prices at 22.04 per cent have also undermined people’s ability to procure food, exacerbated by prolonged nationwide petrol scarcity that has caused a spike in the cost of transportation and other commodities across Nigeria.