Abuja, Nigeria, 18 July 2023 — Babatunde Ojei, IRC Nigeria Country Director, says:
"We welcome the recognition of the government on the state of food insecurity and its declaration by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, of a state of emergency over food. Nearly 25 million Nigerians are likely to go hungry between June and August 2023; malnutrition levels in northeast and northwest Nigeria continue at higher levels than this time last year or the previous four years, with nearly 2 million people receiving humanitarian food assistance in April 2023.
"Our frontline nutrition staff report that more than 90,000 children were treated for malnutrition in our centres in 2022. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure the well-being of families affected by this widespread crisis.
"The International Rescue Committee is concerned about the needs of the people we serve. We need to bolster funding while also increasing efficiencies to limit the impact on children. Those with acute malnutrition are at highest risk for death - more than 11 times. Simplified approaches can lead to significant efficiency gains and scale, enabling policy shift that can help us reach more children now."