The recent report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, that 3.7 million people were at risk of food insecurity in North East Nigeria did not only raise concern among Nigerians, it also made a mess of the Right to Food Act of 2023.
The Right to Food Act, which came into force in March 2023, mandates the government to ensure food security for Nigerians, but the ICRC’s report and other recent reports have shown the government’s abysmal failure to live up to that mandate, as millions of Nigerians face hunger and malnutrition on a daily basis.
The ICRC has raised the alarm over worsening food insecurity in conflict-affected areas of North East Nigeria, where more than 3.7 million people are currently struggling to access enough food.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 3.7 million children in the North East are also malnourished and struggling with stunting, wasting, and anaemia.
The FAO report noted that the most affected states include Yobe, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina, where acute malnutrition has reached Phase Four (Emergency Level) in some local government areas. Maiduguri, Jere, Mobbar, Nganzai, and Mashi are among the locations that are facing dire nutrition crises, with 178,000 children and women from conflict-affected communities most at risk.
