Almost two out of three Nigerian households suffer from hunger, with families skipping meals because they cannot afford enough food, according to a report by the country’s statistics agency.

The number of households that reported not having enough food due to lack of money doubled to 62.4% in 2023 from 37% in 2019, according to the report, published on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

“Furthermore, 12.3 percent reported that at least one person in the household went without food for an entire day,” the report said, highlighting the impact of food inflation that hit a near three-decade high of 41 percent in June . About 21 percent of households rely on help from friends or relatives, it said.
Already, poor nutrition leads to physical effects such as stunted growth, with a quarter of boys and girls considered underweight for their age, up from 19% four years ago.
Food prices are being fueled by reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, with the annual inflation rate rising to 33.9% in October. Since assuming office in May 2023, Tinubu has removed currency restrictions, resulting in a 72% depreciation of the naira. He also removed fuel and electricity subsidies, which led to prices doubling.

Although the reforms were welcomed by international investors as well as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, they sparked demonstrations in August, when Nigerians took to the streets to protest rising food prices.

The average cost of a healthy diet rose by 30% in the five months to September, the statistics agency said in a separate report published this week.