Nigeria’s hunger problem gets worse, putting 33 million people at risk, according to a study

More than 30 million people in Nigeria will not have enough food next year, which is a third more than this year because of the country’s bad economy, according to a study released by the government and the UN on Friday. This is one of the worst hunger crises in the country’s history.

Nigeria, which has the most people in Africa, is having a hard time with rising costs of living, which caused deadly protests in August.

President Bola Tinubu started austerity changes that made things worse for the economy. These included devaluing the naira and ending a gas subsidy that had been in place for decades, which made prices go up.

The study, which is done twice a year in 26 states and the federal capital, found that by August of next year, 33.1 million people would not have enough food to eat. It will be 24.8 million by the end of this year.

“Several factors are driving this trend, but most prominently are economic hardship coupled with record high inflation, a record rise in food prices and record high transportation costs,” a statement with the study said.

Chi Lael, a spokesman for the World Food Program in Nigeria, told Reuters that “as people try to buy food, economic decisions meant to strengthen the country in the long term have felt like a direct attack on their wallets.”

As part of the government’s plan to help the most needy families, Finance Minister Wale Edun said on Thursday that 25,000 naira ($15.45) have been given to 5 million homes so far.

Price increases in food have been the main cause of inflation, which rose from 32.15% in August to 32.70% in September.

Agriculture in the northern states was still being hurt by flooding and lack of safety, which drove up food prices even more, out of reach for many families.

The floods last month killed about 1.6 million hectares of crops, mostly in the northern food basket states. The joint statement said that corn, sorghum, and rice production could have been lost by a total of 1.1 million tons.

That’s enough food for 13 million people every day for a year.

The possible losses in grain crops are worth almost $1 billion in economic damages, the statement said.

One dollar is equal to 1,618.2600 naira.