Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), yesterday, declared that Nigeria's hunger crisis has reached an alarming state, saying the situation demands immediate attention and collective effort to ameliorate the sufferings of vulnerable persons.
Secretary General of the body, Dr. Abubakar Ahmed Kende, who made the declaration in Abuja, said the organisation is deeply concerned about the escalating food insecurity in the country saying the rising fuel price has led to hyperinflation and the soaring of food prices, beyond the reach of many Nigerians.
He said about 26.5 million Nigerians, including women and children, are currently facing acute hunger, and are in dire need of urgent assistance to prevent death and prolonged suffering.
According to him, “More than half of the states in Nigeria are presently food insecure, and the hunger crisis has reached alarming levels.
Increased insecurity, inflation, extreme weather patterns, and global conflicts continue to drive hunger.”
Kende declared, “The time to act is now.”
Children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers are bearing the brunt of malnutrition, with nearly 4.41 million children and 585,000 mothers facing acute malnutrition, and about 1,000 Nigerian children dying daily from malnutrition-related causes.
He said NRCS is taking urgent action to alleviate the crisis and mitigate its devastating impact on Nigerians in line with Nigerian Red Cross Act of 1960, to act as auxiliary to government to alleviate human suffering wherever it might be found and added that NRCS’s 800,000-strong community-based volunteers are present in all 36 states of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and ready to respond to humanitarian needs, even in the most difficult-to-access communities and conditions.
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