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25 million Nigerians risk hunger between June to August, says UNICEF

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*List Adamawa, Sokoto, 4 others most vulnerable

By Francesca Iwambe, Abuja

At least 25 million Nigerians at high risk of food insecurity in between June and August 2023, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

While stressing the need for leaders to take urgent action to address the situation, the UN body noted that food insecurity would be caused by continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices noting that some Northern states are vulnerable.

UN agency made this known on its website in a statement titled ‘25 million Nigerians at high risk of food insecurity in 2023.’

It revealed that the projection was made according to the October 2022 Cadre Harmonisé, a Government led and UN-supported food and nutrition analysis carried out twice a year.

This projection the agency said increase from the estimated 17 million people currently at risk of food insecurity.

“This is a projected increase from the estimated 17 million people currently at risk of food insecurity. Continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices are key drivers of this alarming trend.

“Food access has been affected by persistent violence in the north-east states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) and armed banditry and kidnapping in states such as Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue and Niger.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency, widespread flooding in the 2022 rainy season damaged more than 676,000 hectares of farmlands, which diminished harvests and increased the risk of food insecurity for families across the country.

“The flooding is one of the effects of climate change and variability impacting Nigeria. More extreme weather patterns affecting food security are anticipated in the future”, the UN body said.

It further noted, “Of the 17 million people who are currently food insecure, 3 million are in the northeast BAY states.

“Without immediate action, this figure is expected to increase to 4.4 million in the lean season. This includes highly vulnerable displaced populations and returnees who are already struggling to survive a large-scale humanitarian crisis in which 8.3 million people need assistance”.

Meanwhile, UNICEF said children are the most vulnerable to food insecurity naming six Northern states that could suffer this horrendous hunger.

“Children are the most vulnerable to food insecurity. Approximately 6 of the 17 million food-insecure Nigerians today are children under 5 living in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara states.

“The United Nations is calling on the Government of Nigeria, the donor community, and public and private stakeholders to urgently commit resources and implement mitigation measures to save lives and prevent a potentially catastrophic food security and nutrition situation. Support for vulnerable families across the country is needed today, not tomorrow.”

Tags: Adamawa, United Nations, Yobe, Nigerians, Katsina, UNICEF

Related Topics:Adamawa Katsina Nigerians UNICEF United Nations Yobe

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Speaker Tunis Pledges Support For ECOFEPA

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By Gloria Ikibah

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Mohammed Tunis, has pledged his unflinching support for the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association Network ECOFEPA in its attempts to increase participation for self-development in politics and entrepreneurship.

Speaker Tunis who stated this at the formal opening of ECOFEPA Women and Youth Leadership symposium, on the sidelines of the Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Guinea Bissau, with the theme: Unleashing the potentials of Women and Youth in Politics and Entrepreneurship; asserted that the meeting epitomizes the action stage for women’s involvement in decision-making bodies.

He also commended ECOFEPA for always beaming their search light on issues that affect women and youth in the ECOWAS Sub-region and for firmly reinforcing the need to mentor the next generation of decision makers to bridge existing gaps and bestow sound political and decision-making legacies to them, reaffirming that until they as Members of Parliament replicate ourselves in the younger generation in multiple dimensions to deliver a democratic system that is anchored on good governance and societal growth and development, they cannot credit themselves for success.

Dr. Tunis acknowledged that the event amplifies ECOFEPA’s deliberate resolve to consistently pursue the dreams of its founding Members and recommend for members of Parliament to track generational transfer of knowledge, skills and all it takes to tackle the challenges of the future ahead.

In her address, the 2nd Vice President of ECOFEPA, Madam Gabriella Fernandes, commended the ECOWAS Commission for its outstanding support in enhancing the activities of the association to achieve its goals for women’s integration and empowerment in politics.

She said that the resources mobilized by the ECOWAS Commission will allow the association to host its upcoming symposium in Togo March 2023.

Hon. Fernandes reiterated that the symposium will spark the beginning of efforts to launch their projects and synchronize activities in the areas of leadership and entrepreneurship, which have the propensity to boomerang and catapult women’s advancement into decision-making in the ECOWAS region.

Earlier, the Youth Representative for the West Africa Youth Assembly, Mamadu Djalo, said everyone is aware of the social pressure and barriers that women and youth face daily, in trying to climb up to the political power, and employed men in Africa who control the political powers, to ensure that such power is balanced.

According to Djalo, Women and youth are very isolated for too long, and that there is need for the men to work together with both youth and Women to fill the sense of belonging, as the deliberation cannot be realistic without the participation of the youth and women.

She therefore called for the creation of a youth parliament in order to give them a voice.

Tags: President, ECOWAS, Africa, women, Politics, growth

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Again, one injured as container crushes bus in Oshodi

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By Francesca Iwambe

A 20-ft container crushed a commercial bus in the Oshodi area of Lagos State on Wednesday afternoon, injuring a commercial bus driver.

It was gathered that this is the latest container-related accident experienced in the state in the space of three days.

Eye witnessed confirmed that Wednesday’s accident at Oshodi was caused by a brake failure.

While the passengers in the bus were said to have escaped without an injury, the same could not be said of the bus driver whose degree of injury could not be ascertained as of press time.

Eight people were crushed to death by a 20-ft container that fell off a truck in the Ojuelegba area of Lagos on Sunday.

This is coming barely 24 hours after the Ojuelegba tragedy, a 40-ft container fell off another truck in the Dopemu area of the state on Monday, causing traffic on the road.