Key points

Almost 43% of households in northeast Nigeria have inadequate food consumption in May 2023, which is two percentage-points higher compared to same time last year. Inadequate food consumption has remained high since last year due to October 2022 floods and currency swap crisis in early 2023. Conflict in northeast Nigeria remains a protracted crisis, with persistent inequalities and poverty affecting the region. As of February 2023, 2.2 million individuals remain internally displaced in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States, with women and children comprising most of those internally displaced. Armed insurgency in northeast Nigeria has resulted in increased humanitarian access challenges, recurring displacement, increased food insecurity, and limited opportunities to livelihood recovery. In September & October 2022, the region was adversely affected by widespread flooding destroying farms and critical infrastructure, and thus adversely affecting food availability for 2023. Since early this year, access to affordable food has been challenged by high levels of inflation, transportation costs and the currency swap implemented in early 2023. Context IDPs and returnees show significantly higher levels of coping, inadequate food consumption, nonmonetary poverty and insufficient food stock levels. IDPs residing in host communities are worse-off than IDPs in camps. As of May, only 14% of cultivating households have some food stocks remaining. This marks a 26% point decrease compared to same time last year. Of these, only 8% have stocks that will last longer than a month. Food consumption is therefore expected to worsen rapidly over the coming months. 

CONTEXT

Conflict in northeast Nigeria remains a protracted crisis, with persistent inequalities and poverty affecting the region. As of February 2023, 2.2 million individuals remain internally displaced in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States, with women and children comprising most of those internally displaced. Armed insurgency in northeast Nigeria has resulted in increased humanitarian access challenges, recurring displacement, increased food insecurity, and limited opportunities to livelihood recovery. In September & October 2022, the region was adversely affected by widespread flooding destroying farms and critical infrastructure, and thus adversely affecting food availability for 2023. Since early this year, access to affordable food has been challenged by high levels of inflation, transportation costs and the currency swap implemented in early 2023.