Nigeria is confronting an alarming surge in its hunger crisis, with a joint report by the government and the United Nations projecting that over 33 million people will face food insecurity by August 2025. This figure marks a significant 33% increase from the 24.8 million estimated for the end of 2024, underscoring the deepening economic and social challenges in Africa’s most populous nation.
The report, released on Friday, attributes the worsening crisis to a combination of severe economic hardship, soaring inflation, and skyrocketing food and transportation costs. President Bola Tinubu’s recent austerity measures—including the devaluation of the naira and the removal of a long-standing petrol subsidy—have exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis, which spurred deadly protests in August.
“Economic hardship coupled with record high inflation, a record rise in food prices, and record high transportation costs are the main drivers of this trend,” the report stated. The biannual analysis, which spans 26 states and the federal capital, highlighted the bleak outlook for the coming year.
Chi Lael, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Nigeria, commented on the dire situation: “Economic decisions to strengthen the country in the long term, in the short term have felt like a direct attack on people’s wallets, hitting hardest every time they try to buy food.”
In response, Finance Minister Wale Edun noted that 5 million households had so far received cash support of 25,000 naira ($15.45) each as part of government efforts to cushion the most vulnerable. However, these measures have done little to offset the surging food prices, which have been a major contributor to inflation. Annual inflation climbed to 32.70% in September, up from 32.15% in August.
The situation has been compounded by flooding and ongoing insecurity in northern states, which have severely impacted agriculture. Last month’s floods alone destroyed approximately 1.6 million hectares of crops, including key staples such as maize, sorghum, and rice. This loss could potentially result in a production deficit of 1.1 million tonnes, equivalent to the annual food needs of about 13 million people.
The financial toll of these crop losses is staggering, with the report estimating nearly $1 billion in economic damages. As Nigeria faces an increasingly dire hunger crisis, the pressure on both governmental and international bodies to find sustainable solutions grows. Without significant intervention, millions more Nigerians could slip into food insecurity, intensifying the nation’s humanitarian and economic challenges.
