68% households experienced food insecurity in August –NBS

Sixty-eight per cent of households experienced food insecurity in August as COVID-19 continued to have its impact on different sectors, the National Bureau of Statistics stated on Monday.

Part of the report read, “The food security situation in Nigeria remains precarious, even as the lockdown restrictions continue to be loosened.

“The share of households experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity remained high at 68 per cent in August 2020.

“Experience of both moderate and severe food insecurity are more prevalent than that reported in July/August 2018 during the first visit of the GHS-Panel.”

As the government continued to ease travel restrictions within the country, most Nigerians reported being able to access preventative care such as prenatal care, it stated.

About 95 per cent of the households with school aged children that were not attending school reported that they planned to send their children to school when they reopened.

The report stated, “About one in four households were indebted prior to the pandemic, while nearly a third have taken out new loans since the onset of the pandemic.”

It added that the overall share of respondents who were working was back to pre-pandemic levels, though there continued to be some evidence of people moving in and out of work.