The Nigerian Red Cross Society has said that the country’s hunger crisis had 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 remained deeply concerned about the escalating food insecurity in the country. Kende said it was about time the government acted.

Speaking during the launch of a partnership between the Red Cross and Ecobank on local resource mobilisation for hunger crisis appeal in Abuja, Kende said the rising fuel prices had 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, were currently facing acute hunger, and were 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.”

He said the Ecobank partnership was dedicated to raising funds locally to support the hunger crisis appeal designed to provide relief to those affected by the crisis.

The Red Cross secretary general said children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers were bearing the brunt of malnutrition, with nearly 4.41 million children and 585.000 mothers facing acute malnutrition, and about 1,000 Nigerian children died daily from malnutrition-related causes.

He said NRCS was 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.

Kende added that NRCS’s 800,000-strong community-based volunteers were 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.

He stated that the appeal was anchored on the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) Pan-African Zero Hunger initiatives and also related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda, “Leave no one behind.” He said this showed the inter-linkages of deprivations experienced by poor people – No Poverty (SDG 1); Zero Hunger (SDG 2); Health and Well-being (SDG 3); Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6).

The Red Cross boss said, “As we speak, millions of our fellow citizens are facing acute hunger, with about 26.5 million people, including women and children, in dire need of urgent assistance to prevent death and prolonged suffering.

“The factors contributing to this crisis are multifaceted: changing weather conditions; increased internal conflict; the aftermath of COVID-19, compounded by violent conflicts, including the insurgency in the North-east; armed banditry; perennial farmer-herder conflicts; and separatist agitation in the South-east, among others.

“And global crises, such as the Russia/Ukraine, Gaza war, and rising fuel prices, which have led to hyperinflation and soaring food prices beyond the reach of many Nigerians.”

Kende stated that natural disasters, such as the rising incidence and frequency of floods, as part of the consequences of climate change, had impacted food production, availability and affordability in the country.

He said with the support of Ecobank, among others, NRCS would provide the much-needed humanitarian assistance to the neediest communities.