In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), commonly referred to as the Global Goals. These goals aim to address various global challenges, including poverty eradication, environmental protection, and promoting peace and prosperity for all by 2030.
While these goals are commendable, it is doubtful they would be achieved by the year 2030 due to the slow progress observed in many countries.
Goal 1: No Poverty
Two years ago, Dataphyte reviewed the 2021 SDG report. The review showed that Nigeria has a slim chance of attaining Goal 1 of the SDGs (No poverty). This observation was based on the unending increase in the country’s poverty headcount, whether at a $1.90 per day or $3.20 per day poverty threshold.
Besides this monetary measure of poverty, there is a multidimensional measure of poverty.
If one decides to use the 2022 National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, which assesses poverty across four dimensions: health, education, living standards, and work and shocks, the share of Nigeria’s population living in poverty is pegged at an alarming 63%. This means that 6 out of every 10 Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, an indication that the country is far from achieving Goal 1 of the SDGs.
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This report. however, focuses on the monetary poverty of Nigerians, measured by the proportion of people living below the $1.90 or $3.20 threshold.
From Dataphyte’s review in 2021, both at the $1.90 and $3.20 threshold, Nigeria fared worse than countries like South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt.
At the $1.90 per day threshold, the other four countries each had less than 30% of their population living below the poverty line, while for Nigeria, it was at 43%.
The outcome of the poverty headcount is far worse when it is based on the threshold of $3.20. According to the data, 74% of Nigeria’s population live on less than $3.20 per day, far higher than the other four countries.
Well, besides Goal 1 of the SDGs, Dataphyte’s review of the progress of these countries on Goal 2 of the SDGs shows that Nigeria, and of course, other countries, still has a lot to do to achieve this by 2030. This is crucial because, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the 17 SDGs are integrated, and the action in one area affects outcomes in others.
Goal 2: Zero Hunger
Goal 2 of the SDGs focuses on achieving zero hunger. According to the UN, zero hunger entails the eradication of hunger, ensuring food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture.
The UN has established 8 targets and 13 indicators for SDG 2. Targets specify the goals, and indicators represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether these targets are achieved.
In this report, we shall examine the performance of Nigeria in a number of selected indicators compared with four of its counterparts in Africa.
Indicator 1: Prevalence of undernourishment
The prevalence of undernourishment refers to the proportion of the population whose caloric intake is inadequate to meet the minimum requirements for a healthy life. The minimum caloric requirements, as explained by the UN, vary by individual based on age, gender, weight, and activity levels.
On this indicator, Nigeria only fares better than Kenya. The share of the population of Kenya that is undernourished, according to the data from Our World in Data, is pegged at 26.9%, while Nigeria’s is at 12.7%. The other countries have less than 7% of their population that are undernourished.
It is worth stating that since 2015, Nigeria has been experiencing a rise in the prevalence of its undernourishment. In fact, its performance in recent years has been worse than it was in 2001.
Indicator 2: Prevalence of food insecurity
This is the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population. Moderate food insecurity is associated with the inability to regularly eat healthy, nutritious diets, while severe food insecurity is more related to insufficient quantity of food.
Per data from Our World in Data, 69.5% of Kenya’s population faces moderate and severe food insecurity.
More than half of the population in Nigeria is said to be experiencing the same. This means more than 5 in every 10 persons in Nigeria suffer from moderate and severe food insecurity.
For Ghana, it is 36.6%. Egypt and South Africa have less than 30% of their population facing moderate or severe food insecurity.
Again, the high proportion for Nigeria signals low progress on this indicator, by extension, Goal 2 of the SDGs.
Indicator 3: Prevalence of childhood stunting
This indicator under Goal 2 focuses on stunting among children under 5 years of age.
A child is considered stunted when their height-for-age is 2 or more standard deviations below the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards. Reports show that stunted growth is a consequence of poor nutrition and/or repeated infection such as diarrhoea and dysentery, and acute lower respiratory infections.
The goal of the UN is to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age.
Data on this indicator shows that Nigeria is making progress as stunting is reducing, although it still fares worse than the other four countries being analysed (Data for the other 4 selected countries are not available till 2020).
From 43.6% in 2016, the proportion of children in Nigeria with stunted growth declined to 31.5% in 2020.
Indicator 4: Prevalence of childhood malnutrition (wasting or overweight)
Our next indicator is the prevalence of malnutrition among children under 5 years of age by type (wasting and overweight).
Both children who are underweight or overweight are seen as malnourished.
Due to a lack of updated data on underweight (wasting), we will only focus on overweight. A child is considered overweight if their weight-for-height is more than 2 standard deviations above the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards. The chart for the WHO Child Growth Standard can be found here.
On this, Nigeria fares better than its African counterparts. It has the lowest proportion of its children who are overweight, followed by Ghana.
On the other hand, South Africa and Egypt have the highest share. It is worth highlighting that save for South Africa, which has been static, the trend for other countries indicates an upward movement. If this continues unchecked, it could erode the gains made so far, particularly by countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.
Indicator 5: Genetic resources in conservation facilities
This indicator focuses on the number of plant and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture secured in either medium- or long-term conservation facilities.
The objective of this goal is simply to maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants, and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species.
Unlike most of the indicators with 2023 as the set target, the UN set 2020 as the target for the actualisation of this indicator.
Data from Our World in Data shows that as of 2021, Nigeria has 7,692 of its unique plant genetic samples in conservation facilities. Egypt had almost double Nigeria’s number, while Kenya had 51,405, the highest among the 5 countries being examined in this report.
Ghana and South Africa, on the other hand, had only 418 and 6,871 of their unique plant genetic samples in conservation facilities, respectively.
Overall, the review of Nigeria’s performance in these indicators indicates that progress towards achieving Goal 2 by 2030 is slow, posing a significant challenge. It is important to note that this issue is not unique to Nigeria alone, as global factors such as conflicts, the impact of COVID-19, climate change, and growing inequality globally have also been identified as undermining food security and the attainment of this goal.
Nonetheless, there will be a need for the Nigerian government to rethink its current strategy and consider adopting more effective measures to ensure the successful achievement of Goal 2 of the SDGs.