Mohammed Fall, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, has announced that an alarming number of children in Nigeria, estimated at 5.9 million, are facing a severe crisis concerning food and nutrition, which is reportedly the highest number on a global scale.
During the inauguration of the multi-sector plan for the Food Security and Nutrition Crisis for the 2024 Lean Season, Fall conveyed this information.
Fall elaborated that the strategic plan is designed to complement the Nigerian government’s current efforts and investments in areas such as food aid, healthcare, as well as water and sanitation initiatives, particularly concentrating on the North-Eastern states which include Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.
He also pointed out that there are around 700,000 children under the age of five suffering from malnourishment in these states.
Moreover, Fall highlighted the predicament that 4.8 million Nigerians are anticipated to confront a food crisis during the lean season this year (from June to September).
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This situation is further exacerbated by flooding, soaring inflation rates, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which has complicated the procurement of food.
He specified that in order to implement the project for this year and avoid the deepening of the food and nutrition crisis in the area into a disaster, an amount of N306m targeting 2.8 million individuals is required.
This announcement is on the heels of Nigeria’s issuance of a national emergency declaration regarding food security on July 13, 2023, prompted by unprecedented inflation that has rendered staple foods too expensive for a vast majority.
Separately, as per a new report, the United Kingdom’s economy has defied expectations by emerging from a recession sooner than anticipated during the first quarter of 2023, as reported by Africa Today News, New York.
The UK’s economy exhibited a growth of 0.6 percent from January to March, marking the highest growth rate seen in two years, according to the latest figures.
In conclusion, The Source also underscores that in the previous year, the UK had fallen into a recession after witnessing economic contraction over two consecutive three-month periods.
At that time, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the UK decreased by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, having already contracted by 0.1 percent in the preceding three months, this series of contractions fitting the technical definition of a recession.
