By Mercy Aikoye
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has sounded the alarm on the nation’s growing crisis of malnutrition and food insecurity. Represented by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Abbas emphasized that these challenges pose a significant threat to Nigeria’s development, affecting health, education, and productivity.
The Speaker’s remarks came during the inauguration of the local organizing committee for the National Assembly on nutrition and food security. This historic moment marks the first time the National Assembly has united to address malnutrition and food security through legislative action.
Chairman of the committee, Chike Okafor, lamented the 51% surge in severe malnutrition cases among children in Northern states. He described this statistic as a humanitarian crisis demanding immediate attention and action. Okafor attributed the rise in malnutrition to systemic issues within Nigeria’s nutritional landscape.
Recent natural disasters, such as floods in Adamawa, Maiduguri, and Jigawa, have exacerbated the situation. These disasters disrupted food supplies and access to vital nutrition, worsening an already precarious situation.
The National Summit on Nutrition and Food Security, initially delayed, will now provide a crucial opportunity for assessing Nigeria’s nutrition and food security. The summit aims to craft comprehensive strategies and policies safeguarding citizens’ well-being, particularly vulnerable children.
Abbas stressed that malnutrition and food insecurity strike at the heart of Nigeria’s development. He emphasized the need for collective action to address underlying causes.
Nigeria’s food insecurity crisis is not new. According to the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), food inflation surged to 35.41% in January 2024, with 100 million Nigerians facing food insecurity ¹.
To combat this crisis, experts recommend a multifaceted approach addressing land security, soil security, seed security, water security, harvest security, storage, and logistics security, as well as human security.
