Insecurity and conflict have plagued north-east Nigeria for almost 12 years, causing millions of people to feel the pain of hunger. As the north-east enters the lean season, food security assessments released in March 2021 indicated that looming food insecurity threatens an estimated 4.4 million people, 775,000 of whom are at extreme risk. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the situation, causing economic shocks that have affected families’ ability to access or purchase food.
This dire humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by access constraints and other challenges that hinder the principled, timely and much-needed delivery of humanitarian aid. In one of the latest security incidents, in April 2021, food warehouses in Damasak and the humanitarian office were burned to the ground by non-State armed groups (NSAGs). This led to a temporary reduction in operations, which heightened the already alarming risk of severe food insecurity.
Without urgent action, thousands of families will descend into catastrophic food conditions during this lean season.
Amina Adamo, 25, is only too familiar with hunger; she has lived without food for days and with only very small rations for months at a time. Inside her makeshift shelter at the Elmiskin internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Jere, near Maiduguri, Borno State, she is one of the many people affected by food insecurity.
Amina fears hunger. She relied on food assistance for almost five years, up until it was cut off three months ago. The only food assistance available in the camp was meant for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.
“I have been living in the camp for five years now,” she said. “Things were better in the camp at some point, but now our biggest problem is hunger because there is simply no food.”
Aisha Idri, a mother of three, was living a good life in Baga, a fishing community near Lake Chad, before armed men attacked her village in 2015. She lost four siblings the night the attackers came, and she was forced to abandon her livestock and the family’s thriving fishing business.
“It was a sad time I often choose not to remember,” said Aisha. “They came like thieves in the night, and in an instant they stole the happy lives we once knew. The hardest part to accept is the fact that we were forced to leave everything we spent our lives building. I am happy my husband, children and I made it to a safe place.”
Aisha now lives in one of the biggest IDP camps in Borno, where she receives food assistance from WFP.
“I am grateful that WFP supported me with food throughout my pregnancy. To ensure we have enough, we skip meals so what we are given lasts us longer,” she said.
The irony of all this is that Aisha’s family used to provide food to their neighbours, via their fishing business. But because of the conflict, they now wait expectantly to receive food each month, like many other families.
2021 AllAfrica