The Role of Traditional Food Systems in Nutritional Resilience Among Internally Displaced Persons in North West Nigeria: An Ethnographic Nutrition Study

Internal displacement disrupts food systems, social networks, and cultural practices that communities rely upon to maintain nutritional adequacy, yet the role of traditional food knowledge in sustaining nutritional resilience among internally displaced persons has received minimal scholarly attention in the Nigerian context. This study investigates how traditional food systems function as resources for nutritional resilience among internally displaced persons communities in Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto States, North West Nigeria, using an interpretive ethnographic methodology. Extended fieldwork of nine months was conducted across six internally displaced persons settlements, with 48 key informants including elderly knowledge keepers, women food preparers, community nutrition volunteers, and camp managers. Data were collected through participant observation of food procurement, preparation, and sharing practices, semi-structured in-depth interviews, seasonal food availability calendars developed with community groups, and food frequency diaries maintained by purposively selected households. Ethnographic data were coded and analysed using constructivist grounded theory, with theoretical sampling continuing until conceptual saturation. Quantitative supplementation included a cross-sectional dietary diversity and anthropometric assessment of 240 women and their children to contextualise ethnographic findings within measurable nutrition outcomes. Findings will generate an original grounded theory of traditional food-based resilience mechanisms in displaced contexts, contributing to humanitarian nutrition theory and producing practical recommendations for integrating traditional food knowledge into emergency nutrition response in North West Nigeria. Keywords: traditional food systems, nutritional resilience, internally displaced persons, ethnographic nutrition, North West Nigeria.