The ICRC issued a statement to Vanguard, highlighting various contributing factors, such as the rising fuel prices, which have further deteriorated the malnutrition situation in the states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.
According to the statement, "The acute food insecurity and malnutrition situation in Nigeria is worsening due to the ongoing economic crisis, which continues to deprive millions of people affected by the prolonged conflict in the northeast of access to food."
“Consecutive shocks to the economy – including a 300 percent increase in fuel prices due to the removal of the petrol subsidy and the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira by more than 75 per cent, have caused sudden and sustained spikes in the cost of transportation, staple food prices, agricultural production, and basic services, while the inflation rate reaching an 18-year high of 26.72 per cent in September.
“Before now, a bag of maize sold at N40,000, but now it sells at N70,000. We were selling one measure between N400 – N500, but now it sells between N1,000 – N1,200” says Abubakar Isa, a trader in Gwoza town, Borno State.
This is due to the high cost of fuel, and if we complain to the drivers, they say prices of fuel as well as motor spare parts are now high”.
“With the lifting of fuel subsidies, the average cost of food items in Borno State had increased by 36 per cent and transportation fares by 78 per cent. As a result, thousands of families, especially the internally displaced, can no longer afford to buy the same quality and quantity of food as before, contributing to poor diet and insufficient nutritious food intake. Income levels and labour opportunities have either reduced or remained the same in Borno State since the fuel subsidy removal.
