The 2024 report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World has revealed that approximately 172 million Nigerians were unable to afford a healthy diet. This report, titled “Financing to End Hunger, Food Insecurity, and Malnutrition in All Its Forms,” was published by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO.
According to the report, by 2022, around 172 million Nigerians, or 78.7% of the population, could not afford a healthy diet. This proportion has been steadily increasing since 2017, when 143.8 million Nigerians were affected. The number rose to 149 million in 2018 and 2019, surged to 162.5 million in 2020, increased to 167.4 million in 2021, and reached 172 million in 2022.
The report noted that, as of 2022, a Nigerian needed approximately $3.83 per day to afford a healthy diet. The cost required for a healthy diet has been rising steadily since 2017.
At the end of December 2022, the naira’s exchange rate was N461.5 per dollar, translating to about N1,767.55 needed per day for a healthy meal. By August 2023, the naira’s value against the dollar had fallen to N1,617.08/$1.
Among West African countries, Nigeria had the fifth highest cost for a healthy diet, following Mauritania ($4.86 per day), Ghana ($4.29 per day), Cabo Verde ($4.07 per day), and the Niger Republic ($3.96 per day).
A separate report, the “Cost of Healthy Diet” by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, indicated that the national average cost of a healthy diet rose from N858 per adult per day in January 2024 to N1,241 in June 2024.
The main factors driving this increase were the rising prices of vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and starchy staples, although starchy staples experienced the smallest month-on-month price increase.
The 2024 Global Report on Food Crises identified 19 countries facing prolonged major food crises over the past eight years.
Among these, six countries (Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen) have consistently ranked among the top ten for the number of people affected, with 108 million people experiencing acute food insecurity.
In 2023, nearly 282 million people across 59 food-crisis countries/territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity. The countries with the largest populations affected included the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia, while the countries with the highest proportion of their populations facing acute food insecurity were Palestine (Gaza Strip), South Sudan, Yemen, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Haiti.
The report emphasized the need for improvements in the execution and quality of budget spending on food security. It suggested that even with increased financing for food security and nutrition, reforms are essential to ensure effective and high-quality spending.
Countries like Burkina Faso and Nigeria, which require significant budget reallocations, are furthest from optimal budget allocation. Proper budget reallocations can substantially enhance the value of public money.
Amid this report, the Nigerian Federal Government introduced a new policy to address the food security situation in the country. In early July, the government announced a 150-day duty-free import window for food items imported through land and sea borders.
This directive aims to reduce the demand for foreign exchange by food importers. In 2023, Nigeria spent $2.13 billion on food imports. The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, announced that the duty-free period would apply to commodities such as maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas.
