The World Food Programme of the United Nations on Wednesday declared that the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to the loss of 13 million jobs in Nigeria.
The agency says Nigeria needs urgent financial intervention to boost its economy, as millions of Nigerians across the country are currently suffering the effects of the pandemic.
According to the Senior Spokesperson of the WFP, Elizabeth Byrs, in a statement, more than $182m is needed to sustain life-saving aid to Nigeria over the next six months.
She buttresses that over 3.8 million citizens, those in informal sector in particular, could lose their jobs, emphasizing that the figure could rise to 13 million if the restriction on movement continues for long.
According to her statement, “We are concerned by conflict-affected communities in North-East Nigeria who already face extreme hunger and who are especially vulnerable. They are on life-support and need assistance to survive.”
She added that her organization is distributing two months-worth of food and nutrition assistance in the camps of Internally Displaced Persons and among the vulnerable communities.
She also made it known that three million vulnerable persons in Abuja, Kano and Lagos would also receive assistance from the WFP.
“We are actually scaling up our operations in the North-East to serve more people in response to the new challenges of more food insecurity posed by COVID-19,” Byrs said.
The WFP explained that job losses would lead to increased hunger, saying that this is why it is supporting vulnerable citizens in the country.
