The death toll in a stampede during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has risen from 13 to 32, police said on Sunday. The victims, including at least four children, fainted during the stampede as people became desperate for food items as the country grapples with its worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

Among the dead are 22 people in the town of Okija in southeastern Anambra state, where a philanthropist organized a food distribution on Saturday, local police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga said. Ten others died in the capital, Abuja, during a similar charity event organized by the church.

Police said they were investigating the two incidents, just days after another stampede that killed 35 children.

Africa’s most populous country is seeing a growing trend of local organisations, churches and individuals organizing charity events in the run-up to Christmas to ease economic hardship caused by the cost of living crisis.

Witnesses to the stampede in Abuja told The Associated Press that a crowd grew at one of the church’s gates as dozens tried to enter the premises around 4 a.m. local time, hours before the gifts were due to be distributed.

Some of them, including elderly people, waited overnight to get food, said Loveth Inyang, who rescued one baby from the crowd.

The stampede has prompted growing calls for authorities to enforce security measures at such events. The Nigerian police also mandated that the organizers get prior permission.