Food Banking and Humanitarian Crisis Cuisine among Displaced Children and Population - Foluke Olatoye, Food Banking and Humanitarian Research Fellow

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Background

Given the overarching need to tackle malnutrition and increase the affordability of healthy diets on the continent, the Africa Union tagged 2022 as the Year of African Nutrition. However, 2022 wrapped up as African children, mothers, older adults, youth, and other vulnerable populations experienced extreme nutritional insecurity primarily due to shocks from the Russia-Ukraine war. As the Nigerian government's food and nutrition security policy evolves in 2023, Nigeria's hunger situation is highly worrying, especially in conflict-ridden Northern Nigerian states. The food security and nutrition crises in northeastern Nigeria have worsened to frightening new levels, necessitating urgent international action to prevent a catastrophe. In the last five years, June marked the peak of the early onset of the worst lean season in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) States. According to the REACH humanitarian situation monitoring for June 2023, the level of acute malnutrition in new arrivals from the hard-to-reach areas in BAY states is critical, with an IPC acute malnutrition (IPC) level of 19 percent. Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates above 10 percent indicate a high level of acute malnutrition and a highly stressed population regarding food security, with poor access to water and sanitation and poor health conditions at the root of the problem. On average, the number of severely ill children admitted to treatment programmes in BAY states during June 2023 increased by 19 percent compared to the same month in 2022[1].

In one research, Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) say that “frequent deaths are being reported now more than ever. For instance, six deaths may be recorded in three months, but there were no deaths in the early part of the year when we arrived, only sickness. However, we don't know if the sickness is the cause of the death. However, the food supplied by national and international agencies isn't enough for us. The main sickness is hunger. (What is the cause of this death?) It's just hunger. Nothing else”. The narrative showed that the supplies they needed weren't enough and that food deprivation hurt their health. Moreover, it could have been the cause of some of the deaths. Therefore, it's no surprise that the biggest issue in all the camps was hunger and that some of the deaths were due to unavailability of food.

How to bolster food security through humanitarian aid in the North-East?

As the displacement crisis unfolds in Northern Nigeria, ensuring food security for the affected population remains a pressing concern. From community-driven initiatives to technological interventions, these innovative approaches will shape how relief organizations and communities respond to the crisis.

Foremost is the adoption of cultivating community gardens among the IDPs. Community gardens are not only sources of sustenance but have emerged as tools for resilience and empowerment. Through collaboration with NGOs and agricultural experts, IDPs can learn to grow their crops using available spaces, thus enhancing self-sufficiency and reconnecting with their agricultural heritage. For instance, 联合国开发计划署 's support for the reconciliation and reintegration (SRC) project, supported by EU funding, provided gardening equipment and seeds to the conflict-affected communities in Borno state to support local food production and income generation. Some IDPs could also farm very close to the camps through this effort. In addition to the aforementioned, mobile food distribution units is emerging as a beacon of hope, delivering essential supplies to even the most remote and inaccessible areas. In a landscape marked by conflict and mobility restrictions, traditional food distribution methods often fall short of meeting the needs of all displaced individuals. Equipped with innovative technologies like biometric identification and GPS tracking, these units ensure targeted delivery and prevent diversion of aid. An NGO, No Hunger Food Bank (NHFB), assists the malnourished children and less privileged through the fast and flexible mobile pantry programme in some parts of Northern Nigeria[2]. In collaboration with the UNHAS, the European Union uses a similar approach to get food across to IDPs in isolated areas.[3]? Northern Nigeria's climate vulnerability intensifies the food security crisis. Therefore, embracing climate-smart agricultural practices like planting drought-resistant crops, rainwater harvesting, and agroforestry will increase yields, build communities' resilience against future shocks, and mitigate the impact of climate change on food production. Finally, technology is becoming indispensable in optimizing food security and humanitarian aid interventions. Digital platforms can gather real-time data on food needs, monitor distribution, and assess the impact of interventions. Geographic information systems (GIS) will enable organizations to visualize aid distribution and identify coverage gaps.

The Future

Building on the success of the 2019 – 2023 phase and being a community-driven food banking solution to providing sustainable solutions to attaining zero hunger, No Hunger Food Bank Hunger Food Bank (NHFB) is on a transformational shift to its second gear through its 2024 – 2028 – five-year strategic plan. NHFB believes providing community-driven food banking services to its beneficiaries remains crucial to distinguishing itself from other hunger-relief organisations in Abuja.

In alignment with NHFB's 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan, NHFB will implement its 2024 – 2028 Strategic Plan. We will leverage the 2019 – 2023 phase’ success towards serving 750,000 vulnerable families. NHIs intensified efforts into innovative strategies and partnered with creative agencies to contribute significantly to fulfilling NHFB's vision and mission. NHFB, in collaboration with its strategic agencies, is committed to providing 175 million servings of healthy foods, fruits, and vegetables to vulnerable children and mothers by 2028. NHFB believes every child should have unlimited access to healthy foods, NHFB's second gear is articulated in its 2024 – 2028 Strategic Plan. Its Advisory Council and Board of Directors are driven to collaborate with like-minded businesses to provide its beneficiaries with a unique value proposition, thereby collaborating with multiple companies locally and regionally to position NHFB towards realizing zero hunger for its beneficiaries.

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[1] Nigeria | Situation Reports (unocha.org), Accessed in August 2023

[2] Our Activities - NoHungerFoodBank

[3] Nigeria (europa.eu)