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Hunger affects physical and mental health. How Tinubu can curb it. 10 Sep 2024

Nigeria, the world's foremost black nation, is currently grappling with a severe hunger crisis. According to the World Food Programme, the number of people projected to face acute hunger in the country between June and August 2024 would reach 26.5 million, a staggering 43% jump from the 18.6 million food-insecure people at the end of last year. The International Rescue Committee separately estimated that by August, the number of Nigerians experiencing severe hunger would reach 32 million.

These statistics, while sobering, only scratch the surface of the pervasive desperation felt across the country. 2024 has already seen a series of "hunger protests," with Nigerians taking to the streets at different times since February to voice their frustration over the skyrocketing prices of food items and other economic hardships. In June, food inflation soared to 40.87% year-on-year, a record high that underscores the urgency of the need to address the situation.

The current economic hardships in Nigeria have pushed many households, who did not previously consider themselves to be poor, into hunger. The situation has forced them to start rationing their meals or resorting to cheaper, less nutritious alternatives. There are stories of children asking their parents, "Mummy, why don't we buy cereals anymore?", leading the parents to have the difficult conversation with their children about the hikes in prices of essential food items.

The removal of petrol subsidy and floatation of the exchange rate by President Bola Tinubu's administration further exacerbated the vulnerability to hunger and deprivation in Nigeria, where 133 million people were already multidimensionally poor before the current administration took office. Other factors, including conflict and insecurity, infrastructure deficits, low agricultural productivity, and the effects of climate change, have continued to drive hunger in the country.

As stated by the United Nations, extreme hunger constitutes a serious barrier to sustainable development. There are diverse empirical reasons for this. For one thing, hunger is not just an uncomfortable or painful physical sensation felt or experienced tangibly due to lack of food; it can also cause immediate and lasting negative outcomes on both physical and mental health.

A situation where there is widespread hunger due to food insecurity – which the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN defines as the inability for people to have "adequate physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” – the long-term effects on the society can be devastating. It is, therefore, incumbent upon Nigerian policymakers at the various tiers and branches of government to demonstrate a serious commitment to defusing the 'ticking time bomb' of hunger and food insecurity in all their dimensions being experienced by tens of millions of Nigerians.

The nationwide protests, as disruptive as they were in many parts of the country, represent a physical response relating to the stress of not having access to food, with many people facing uncertainty about feeding their families. Research has shown that hunger and food insecurity are powerful drivers of social unrest and conflict.

In addition to this, studies have found a strong correlation between hunger and chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Many of these health conditions among adults result from hunger experienced in childhood and even nutritional deficiencies before birth, highlighting the significant effects of hunger, which can persist into adulthood.
 
Childhood hunger or deprivation of essential nutrients needed for growth and overall well-being can have severe physical and mental effects on a child. The physical effects of chronic hunger include wasting and susceptibility to other diseases and even death. About 45 million children under the age of 5 were affected by wasting and 148 million had stunted growth in 2022, per a UN report. The mental effects of hunger include impairment in cognitive development and weak academic performance. Increased stress levels due to hunger limits the ability to think, reason, and remember information.

Depression and behavioural disorders during adolescence and young adulthood can also be associated with childhood hunger. "There is a deep relationship between hunger and health, and the impact of even a short period of childhood hunger can last a lifetime," says No Kid Hungry, a Unted States nonprofit.

Adults who experience food insecurity also run a high risk of developing various mental health issues. Researchers have found a strong association between food insecurity, negative effects on sleep outcomes, and mental disorders, including anxiety and depression, among adults in Nigeria and many other countries. A 2020 report on the relationship between food insecurity and mental health in the urban slums of Lagos found that hunger contributed to increased stress levels among residents, social isolation, and reduced community cohesion.  

Negative emotions such as anger, tension, and irritability, which can make people less tolerant of others, are attributable to hunger. Food insecurity is one of the factors that influence low moods, which can be characterised by sadness, anxiety, and frustration. A low mood can impair people's perceptions and judgements, leaving them vulnerable to emotional manipulation, research has shown. "When we're hungry, we will likely struggle with complex cognitive tasks, nuance and concentration," write Miriam Frankel and Matt Warren, authors of Are You Thinking Clearly?

John Parkinson, a psychologist at Bangor University in the United Kingdom, has shown that hunger considerably weakens people's ability to solve problems or perform other tasks requiring cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is our brain’s ability to adapt and switch between different thoughts or tasks. It is central in carrying out cognitive tasks, including reading comprehension, multitasking, and problem-solving. Hunger reduces this very important executive function.

Needless to say, a state of stress caused by an involuntary absence of food and insufficient calories has significant implications on workforce productivity and long-term economic costs for Nigeria. The criticality of addressing the psychological consequences of hunger in the country is beyond question. It must be a moral imperative for the current administration. This crisis needs to be framed as a war-like emergency just like former U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who led the country out of the Great Depression, did regarding the dire economic conditions during his presidency.

Advocating for a moral agenda, Roosevelt focused on providing for the economic security of Americans through a variety of social welfare programmes, including unemployment insurance. He is also remembered for advancing important public health initiatives and environmental stewardship.

The Tinubu administration has taken some measures to address the hunger crisis, such as the suspension of taxes on certain food imports, distribution of grains from the national food reserves, and provision of cash transfers to 15 million poor households. However, these efforts have been criticised as inadequate and ineffective by labour unions and economic analysts.

To effectively and credibly tackle the hunger crisis, the immediate and decisive actions needed should include a scaling up of social welfare programmes for vulnerable populations, such as the poorest households, and educational institutions. The government announced last month that it was relaunching the Home-grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP), following its suspension in January due to allegations of irregularities. Giving the vital nature of the HGSFP in helping to improve the cognitive performance of indigent children and its support for smallholder farmers, local communities, and various businesses in the programme's value chain, it should not have been halted in the first place.   

Nonetheless, its reintroduction is a positive step. The government should now proceed to ensuring an expansion, transparency, and ethical governance of the programme forthwith. Other social programmes should also be strengthened and administered in a similar vein. Implementing public-private partnerships to leverage resources and expertise can be pivotal to enhancing the credibility and delivery of social welfare programmes.

The fabric of Nigeria's agricultural productivity, which has been torn apart by conflict and insecurity, must be recrafted to achieve food security. Investments in modern farming techniques, quality seeds, fertilisers, as well as storage and transportation networks need to take place pari passu with conflict resolution mechanisms. The implementation of peacebuilding efforts is critical to solving the root causes of conflicts.

Other important efforts, including enhancing the climate resilience of agriculture and stimulating the emergence of a strong jobs market through economic diversification, will also help in addressing the underlying causes of the current crisis. Food insecurity is crucial to ensuring the overall well-being of the Nigerian people and achieving national development.

Martins Hile is a sustainability strategist and editorial consultant.