NBS: 51% of households reduced food consumption to cope with COVID-19 shocks

A COVID-19 impact survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that a large percentage of households reduced their food consumption to cope with the shocks of the pandemic.

The Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey was carried out in collaboration with the survey unit of the World Bank.

Results of the survey showed that 97% of respondents were aware of the preventative measures like handwashing, avoiding gatherings (90%) and social distancing
(89%).

Households were said to have begun to adapt to the shocks caused by the pandemic with 51 percent reducing their food consumption and 29 percent drawing down their savings.

“A high rate of households reported income loss since mid-March. 79% of households reported that their total income decreased. Income from all sources was affected by the pandemic and reported to have decreased since mid-March,” the report read.

“However, the rate was highest for income from non-farm family business (85%) compared to household farming, livestock or fishing (73%) and wage employment (58%).”

According to the survey, 42% of respondents who were working before the outbreak were “no longer working for reasons related to COVID-19”.

The poorest households were said to have reported the highest share (45 percent) of people who stopped working while 39 percent of the wealthiest households reported the same.

“Workers in all sectors were affected by the pandemic, but primarily those working in commerce, services and agriculture. 14% of respondents were working in the commerce sector before the outbreak but have since stopped working due to COVID-19,” the report read.

“This is equivalent to 60% of all those working in the sector prior to the pandemic. In all sectors, respondents that stopped working reported that COVID-19 related economic impacts were the primary cause.”

As a result of the lockdown and suspension of educational activities, 38% of households with children who attended school before the closure were reported not to have engaged in any learning/education activities.

The survey was carried out between April 20 and May 11, 2020.