A new report released in Abuja has unveiled a concerning landscape of food insecurity affecting a vast majority of Nigerian households.
According to the 2021 National Food Consumption and Micronutrients Survey, only about 21% of households in Nigeria are considered food secure.
Naija News reports that the survey, a collaborative effort between the Federal government, foreign partners, and stakeholders in the food sector, paints a dire picture with 79% of households facing varying degrees of food insecurity.
Dr. Olarinwaju Isiaka, one of the researchers presenting the report, highlighted some distressing statistics: about 59% of households are moderately food insecure, while another 20% face severe food insecurity.
The study, focusing on women of reproductive age, children aged 0-59 months, and adolescent girls, found that a staggering 41.5% of households had not had enough money to buy food in the week preceding the survey.
Adding to the complexity of food access issues, the report also sheds light on sanitation challenges. Approximately 23% of Nigerian households lack toilet facilities, which compounds the public health challenges associated with food insecurity.
The availability of clean water, a critical component of food hygiene and overall health also varies significantly across the country.
The report stated that 62.9% of households have access to improved water sources, 42.6% use borehole water systems, and 17.40% rely on protected well water.
The distribution of these resources is uneven, with the South East and South-South zones showing the lowest access to piped water but the highest access to borehole facilities.
The disparities in water supply were noted by Dr. Michael Ojo, the Country Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), who expressed concern over the decline in water supply infrastructure.
“It is worrisome that we are not going forward in water supply from 11-1.1%, showing a decline of 10% within a period of 10 years,” he said.
Dr. Ojo also critiqued the fragmented approach to addressing these critical issues, stating, “The reason Nigeria has an issue with the food system is that every stakeholder has been working in silos without addressing the root cause of the problem.”
He emphasized the need for concerted efforts to overhaul the nation’s food system, considering the entire chain of processes involved in food production and distribution.