Nigeria Situation Report, 5 April 2024

HIGHLIGHTS

• Over 4.8 million people at risk of hunger in north-east Nigeria this lean season.
• Humanitarian Coordinator condemns abduction of scores of civilians in Ngala, Borno State.
• Multiple fire outbreaks in IDP camps in Borno State leave thousands without shelter.

BACKGROUND

Situation Overview

Over 4.8 million people at risk of acute hunger in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States this lean season

An estimated 4.8 million people in Nigeria’s north-east states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) 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 2024 Cadre Harmonisé (CH) food and nutrition analysis. This number is an 11.6 per cent increase from the 4.3 million people projected to be food insecure during the same period in 2023. A breakdown of the states projected to account for the 4.8 million food insecure people showed that Borno State would be the most burdened with over 2.1 million people projected to face acute hunger by June 2024. Yobe State will account for 1.5 million food-insecure people, followed by Adamawa State with 1.2 million food-insecure people during the 2024 lean season.

The CH analysis report also projected that 31.8 million people across Nigeria would face an acute food crisis by June this year in the 26 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (FCT) which were analysed. This number represents a 28.2 per cent increase from 24.8 million people during the same period in 2023. The CH is an evidence-based early warning tool developed for the analysis and classification of the severity of food and nutrition insecurity in most of Sahal and coastal west Africa. In Nigeria, the CH analysis is conducted in March and October of every year, led by the Government and supported by partners*.*

According to the March 2024 CH analysis report, the key drivers of the deteriorating food security situation include rising inflation, insecurity (insurgency, kidnapping and banditry), and high fuel prices, compounded by the effects of climate-related shocks across the country. Farmers across Nigeria continue to desert their farms due to heightened insecurity. According to the Association of Nigerian Farmers, about 165 farmers across Nigeria have lost their lives in 2024 alone due to farmland insecurity. In some cases, farmers had to pay huge sums of money to operatives of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) to be allowed to access their farms. Farmland insecurity has resulted in less food production. According to Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation hit 37.92 per cent in February, from 35.41 per cent in January.

The food and nutrition crisis in the BAY states has been worsened by the protracted conflict and dry spell. A recent nutrition sentinel surveillance and admissions data indicate that at least 16 of the 62 local government areas (LGAs) in the BAY states are already experiencing a critical nutrition situation before the peak of the lean season (June-August). Children under five are bearing the brunt of the nutrition crisis, with almost a two-fold surge in severe acute malnutrition (SAM) cases from 2023 to 2024, which is already equivalent to caseloads seen during the peak of the 2022 severe lean season.

To address the food crisis across the country, the federal government of Nigeria declared a national food security emergency in July 2023. Subsequently, the Government initiated various palliative schemes to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal and food inflation across the country. State governments in Nigeria have also implemented palliative initiatives, including distributing food and farming inputs to millions of households across the country.

Humanitarian organisations in the BAY states are maintaining a strong focus on nutrition programme management and training of health workers, with an emphasis on integrated approaches and community involvement. The state governments of the BAY states have recommended a reduced ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) dosage to cope with the significant RUTF shortfalls and stockouts at health facilities as the nutrition crisis worsens.

There is an imminent RUTF pipeline break starting in April 2024 due to underfunding that threatens to completely disrupt the lifeline for an unprecedented number of children. To prevent the crisis from deepening, aid organisations have reactivated a high-level task force on food and nutrition security to design and implement a comprehensive and unified response to the food and nutrition crisis in the BAY states.

Humanitarian Coordinator condemns abduction of scores of civilians in Ngala, Borno State

On 6 March, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall issued a statement condemning the abduction of internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of them women, boys, and girls, in the Gwoza and Ngala local government areas of Borno State. On 29 February, members of a non-state armed group (NSAG) allegedly abducted a group of IDPs who had reportedly ventured beyond the safety of the trenches surrounding Ngala - from the ISS, Zulum, Kaigama, and Arabic IDP camps - in search of firewood. While their captors released an unspecified number of older women and children under ten years old, scores of IDPs remained unaccounted for, according to protection partners. Humanitarian Coordinator Fall called on parties to the conflict to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians from harm.

In a separate incident on 14 March, protection partners reported that 23 IDPs, mainly women, girls and children from the Government Secondary School (GSS) IDP camp in Gwoza were abducted by NSAG operatives in February. Seven of those abducted escaped or were released, while 16 of them remained in captivity as of 29 March 2024. Humanitarian partners have reported a series of NSAG attacks on IDPs and returnees in Gwoza who ventured beyond the safety of the trenches surrounding the town in search of food and livelihoods.

More than two million people in the BAY) states have fled to garrison towns where they have few if any, livelihood options. Those who venture beyond the protective trenches surrounding these towns to forage or farm do so at great peril, with killings, abductions, forced recruitment, and sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) rampant. Humanitarian organisations continue to advocate for more funds to provide safer livelihood opportunities for IDPs in Borno State.

Multiple fire outbreaks in Borno State leave thousands without shelter

At least four childrenlost their lives and thousands of IDPs lost their shelters and personal belongings, including their biometric cards and food ration cards, following multiple fire outbreaks in IDP camps in Jere and Monguno LGAs of Borno State.

On 12 March, a fire at the Muna IDP camp in Jere LGA resulted in the deaths of three children while several other people sustained injuries. The fire destroyed over 200 makeshift shelters in the camp, leaving about 45,000 people homeless with nothing except the clothes they had on. The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) attributed the fire incident to the congestion in the camp and the grasses used in constructing the makeshift shelters.

On the same day, humanitarian partners in Monguno reported multiple fire outbreaks affecting three IDP camps, leading to the death of a child and making thousands of IDPs homeless. The first major incident occurred on 11 March and affected two camps, including the Government Science Senior Secondary School (GSSSS) and Fulatari IDP camps destroying 399 homes and leaving about 1,778 people homeless. The second incident occurred the next day, 12 March, at the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) IDP camp damaging 479 homes and leaving an estimated 1,876 people homeless.

The Borno SEMA and humanitarian partners are assessing the needs of those affected for more comprehensive assistance. Since January 2024, there have been 23 fire outbreaks in Monguno which have destroyed over 2,000 shelters, leaving over 8,400 IDPs homeless and in need of assistance.

Humanitarian partners and local authorities have intensified efforts to provide fire safety education for camp residents, including information on open flame dangers, fire extinguisher usage, and emergency procedures. During these awareness campaigns, residents in the IDP camps are urged to cook in designated areas and avoid using candles or other open flames within their tents.