This increase is part of a trend affecting the entire Lake Chad Basin region,[1] where an estimated 6.1 million[2] people will not have enough to eat in the coming months due in part to both conflict and climate, the highest figure in four years.
The rise in the number of people without enough food mirrors an increase in violence, which has severely impacted communities’ ability to grow crops and access markets. Violent incidents in the Lake Chad region in the first half of 2024 rose 58% compared with the same period in 2023.[3]
Climate hazards are also preventing people from growing crops and accessing their farmland and markets, contributing to a food security crisis being felt across Lake Chad – in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. In north-east Nigeria, the start of the harvest season coincided this year with heavy floods that washed away seeds and all hope of harvest after an especially dry lean season.
“The consequences of spiraling violence and climate variability are devastating for families trying to feed themselves. We see the proof in the health facilities we support, where the rising number of children with severe acute malnutrition is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, they only represent a fraction of those in need across the region,” said Yann Bonzon, the head of the ICRC’s delegation in Nigeria.
In September, the ICRC expanded its efforts to curb malnutrition rates by supporting two additional health centres for malnourished children in Yobe and Adamawa states, in north-east Nigeria. This will allow medical teams to provide a range of key services including consultations, nutritional screenings, and treatment for malnourished children with complications.
The ICRC, alongside its partners from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, carries out activities assisting millions of people impacted by the combined effects of conflict and climate across the Lake Chad Basin. In north-east Nigeria in 2024, 187,000 people benefited from assistance in response to food shortages, delivered by the ICRC and the Nigerian Red Cross Society.
“We are increasing our humanitarian assistance, but we are afraid it is not going to be enough, because the needs are so much higher than the help we are able to provide,” said Alhaji Abubakar Kende, secretary-general of the Nigerian Red Cross Society.
The ICRC reminds all parties to armed conflicts that it is their responsibility under international humanitarian law (IHL), to ensure that people living in the territories under their control can meet their essential needs, including food, water, medical care and access to farmland and markets. The ICRC engages with all parties to armed conflict on their respect for IHL, including in their conduct of hostilities. Indeed, IHL violations can negatively impact food security by disrupting access to fields and markets, restricting seasonal movements of livestock, and limiting access of humanitarian actors to communities in need.
[1] The Lake Chad Basin region includes: the Far North Region of Cameroon, the Diffa Region in Niger, the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States in Nigeria and the Lac Province in Chad.
[2] According to the Cadre Harmonisé mechanism by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC9), 6.1 million people were expected to be in crisis or worse (phase 3–5) during the lean season.
[3] According to reports by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), the number of violent incidents has spiked in 2024, with a 58% increase relative to 2023.
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