By Deborah Nnamdi
A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has highlighted desperate measures being Nigerian households are adopting desperate measures to survive amidst biting food scarcity, insecurity, and high prices.
The body said 65 per cent of families and other residents are unable to afford healthy meals due to lack of money, according to its latest General Household Survey Panel (Wave 5) report conducted in collaboration with the World Bank.
The report said 71 per cent of households were impacted by price increases on major food items, with food shortages affecting more than a third of households in the past year, especially in June, July, and August.
The data further said 48.8 per cent of households reported reducing their food consumption as a coping mechanism.
“In the past 12 months, more than one-third of households faced food shortages, which occurred more frequently in June, July, and August. Price increases on major food items were the most prevalent shock reported by households, affecting 71.0 per cent of surveyed households.”
The report said the number of households worried about not having enough food to eat increased from 36.9 per cent in Wave 4 (conducted in 2019) to 62.4 per cent in Wave 5.
According to NBS, the surge was due to an increase in food insecurity, with more than half of Nigerian families struggling to meet their dietary needs.
“Approximately two out of three households (65.8 per cent) reported being unable to eat healthy, nutritious or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days.
“63.8 per cent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 per cent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 per cent ate less than they thought they should,” the report added.
It further said 12.3 per cent reported that at least one person in the household went without eating for a whole day and 20.8 per cent of households had to borrow food or rely on help from friends or relatives.
“In general, households in the southern zones report more incidents related to food security so than those in northern zones.
“For example, in the southern zones, the proportion of households reporting that they had to skip a meal ranged from 50.1 per cent in South West to 62.4 per cent in South East, while in the northern zones, this share varied from 34.0 per cent in North Central to 48.3 per cent in North East.”
NBS noted that residents in the south-south zone had the highest (most concerning) rate in five out of eight indicators of food insecurity.
“In contrast, the data bureau said north-central had the lowest rate in six of the eight indicators”, it submitted.
