Some households in the northern part of the country may be pushed further into poverty, a humanitarian group, Save the Children International, has warned.
The humanitarian group noted that the rising security challenge in the region has affected the livelihood of some households in the region.
It further warned that insecurity had made the north to be more vulnerable, leading to food insecurity.
The group said this in its report titled: ‘Addressing Food Insecurity and Livelihood’, presented to the public in Abuja.
It noted that from its work in the North East and other northern states, it had observed that northerners are becoming more vulnerable and food insecure as a result of the unabating insecurity situation.
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The Country Director SCI, Mr Famari Barro, while speaking at a National Advocacy on Household Economy Analysis (HEA) workshop in Abuja, said the North was getting poorer while vulnerability was on the rise as a result of insecurity situation
He stated that the Household Economy Analysis (HEA) baselines conducted in seven states in Northern Nigeria, indicated that the poorer households comprise at least 74% of the population and are unable to access their minimum energy requirements in a sustainable manner, leading to chronic and acute malnutrition in children.
The states, according to Barro, include Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Kastina and Zamfara
Barro said SCI was concerned about early warning systems in Nigeria, which focused on the food security situation in the country, saying this was why the organisation was building the capacity of local civil societies to report food crisis situations in the states they are working, so as to help donor organisations to channel their funds to meet the demand of their target beneficiaries.
The HEA Coordinator for Save the Children Nelson Yidawi, in his paper presentation stated that SCI has been developing Early Warning Systems (EWS) on food security situations across 16 states for the last 10years.