ISSN: 2578-4994
Authors: Joe-Ikechebelu NN*, Akanwa AO, Okonkwo AU, Anukwonke CC and Nkwocha KF
With 21.7 million Nigerians unemployed, 7 million estimated poor and a probable poverty rise of 42.5% in 2020, the outbreak of the pandemic in Nigeria came at the worst era in the nation’s history. The COVID-19 pandemic and confinement, the continued neglect in modernizing the African agricultural sector, and its consequences on food insecurity, worsened an already existing crisis of food shortages with grim possibilities of malnutrition, as well as deepened health-related social inequities in Africa and in Nigeria. These inequities were exacerbated by the heavy dependence of the sub-Saharan African/Nigerian economy on non-agricultural sources. This paper was borne based on the grievances experienced in Africa and Nigeria, over food insecurity during COVID-19. The goal of this paper is to review food shortage and malnutrition crisis during the COVID-19 confinement in Africa with focus on Nigeria. This paper employed a secondary source of data collection and a descriptive approach. Findings showed that prior to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Nigerian agricultural sector has been surrounded by a plethora of problems limiting its productivity levels especially at the community level. Moreover, the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Nigeria with the mandatory 3 months confinement brought all socio-economic, government and private activities to a halt. This led to rapid income decline resulting in diminished sale of food products, rise of food prices, rapid purchase, hoarding of foodstuffs, hunger crisis, malnutrition, thereby worsening existing inequalities. This paper recommended best practices that would transform the Nigeria agricultural production and malnutrition challenges beyond the pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; Food Shortage; Malnutrition; Hunger; Confinement and Unemployed Youths
