The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says soaring prices are affecting the livelihood of about two million displaced Nigerians.

A statement on the ICRC website on Tuesday said that over a decade of armed conflict has left more than two million people displaced in the North-East of Nigeria.

It noted that people who fled their homes and lost their livelihoods due to the ongoing conflict in the North-East are struggling to put food on their table.

It said that the inflation rate reached a four-year record high of 18 per cent in March 2021, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

“People displaced by the conflict are among the most vulnerable and are disproportionately affected by price fluctuations.

“Families struggle to find work, care for their loved ones and also put food on the table,” said Sarrah El-Moumouhi, deputy head of Maiduguri sub-delegation for the ICRC.

It said that according to official statistics, 40 per cent of Nigeria’s population, or almost 83 million people, live below the country’s poverty line of N137,430 (382 dollars) per year.

It said that ICRC provided microeconomic grants to vulnerable groups of people who lost their income due to the ongoing armed conflict to enable them start small businesses.

“However, steep inflation of the past year has hit them hard and an increasing number of people are struggling to keep their business afloat,” it said.

It said that in 2020, more than 16,000 people received cash for investment through the ICRC’s micro-economic grants, adding that 173 entrepreneurs received grants through the ICRC-Tony Elumelu Foundation partnership.

(NAN)