Nigeria has been ranked 115th out of 123 countries in the latest Global Hunger Index (GHI), underscoring a worsening food security crisis fuelled by poverty, inflation, and widespread insecurity.
The 2025 GHI, which assesses global hunger using four key indicators, undernourishment, child stunting, wasting, and mortality, paints a grim picture of Nigeria’s nutrition and food access levels.
Speaking at the Nutritious Food Fair in Kano, Dr Adiya Ode, Country Representative of Propcom+ Nigeria, expressed alarm that the situation could deteriorate further, with more than 31.8 million Nigerians already facing acute food insecurity.
“This crisis is deepening as malnutrition and child stunting worsen,” she said. “We need renewed strategies to make food more affordable.”
Ode reaffirmed Propcom+’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s food security drive through climate-smart, market-driven agricultural solutions. “Our partnerships are the cornerstone of this mission,” she noted, highlighting collaborations with the Kano State Government and HarvestPlus to strengthen the seed-to-shelf journey of nutrient-rich foods.
HarvestPlus Country Manager, Dr Yusuf Dollah Fu’ad, said Nigeria could turn the tide by boosting farmers’ productivity with nutrient-enriched staple crops. He argued that the food-based approach offers a sustainable and cost-effective solution to “hidden hunger”, as many rural communities consume what they grow.
“The more farmers cultivate nutrient-dense crops, the more families gain access to essential vitamins and micronutrients,” Fu’ad said, urging better coordination of nutrition efforts nationwide.
Kano’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Yusuf, disclosed that the state has reactivated over 65 centres for malnutrition treatment and released more than ₦1 billion in counterpart funding to curb child stunting through ready-to-serve nutrient foods.
Experts at the event warned that unless urgent measures are taken to strengthen Nigeria’s food systems and protect vulnerable households, the hunger crisis could spiral further with devastating social and economic consequences.
