A recent Cadre Harmonisé report on food and nutrition insecurity has projected that 133.1 million Nigerians will experience critical levels of hunger by 2025, marking an urgent escalation in food insecurity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed the findings in a statement, noting that the report was prepared in collaboration with the Nigerian government and international partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF.
According to the report, this figure represents a seven-million-person increase compared to last year, driven by economic hardships, record inflation, climate change impacts, and ongoing violence in the northeast. As the lean season (June to August) approaches, 1.8 million Nigerians are expected to face emergency-level hunger (Phase 4), up 80% from the previous year.
The report highlights that approximately 5.4 million children, along with nearly 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in high-risk states like Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto, Katsina, and Zamfara, are threatened by acute malnutrition. Of these, 1.8 million children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition, requiring urgent treatment.
Dr. Temitope Fashedemi, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, emphasized the need for federal ministries and partners to incorporate these findings into strategic food and nutrition interventions. Dominique Koffy Kouacou, FAO Representative ad interim in Nigeria and ECOWAS, reiterated FAO’s commitment to long-term solutions that improve food systems and combat the root causes of hunger and malnutrition.
WFP Country Director David Stevenson noted that the ongoing conflict in Nigeria’s northeast is a major driver of hunger and stressed the importance of peace for realizing the region’s agricultural potential. UNICEF’s Country Representative, Cristian Munduate, highlighted the severe impact of malnutrition on children, warning that food insecurity could lead to irreversible cognitive and physical consequences.
The UN has urged the Nigerian government, donors, and stakeholders to commit resources immediately to prevent an impending food crisis, stressing the need for coordinated multi-sectoral efforts to stabilize food security across the country.
