Aid cuts worsen Nigeria’s hunger crisis, says UN
The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that cuts in humanitarian aid are driving Nigeria further into a hunger emergency. Food assistance has dropped sharply, leaving millions at risk, especially in the country’s most vulnerable regions. Sarah Longford, WFP Deputy Regional Director, highlighted the deepening crisis and called for urgent action. The situation is compounded by insecurity and funding shortfalls, threatening to reverse previous humanitarian gains.
TLDR
- The UN World Food Programme says food aid in Nigeria fell from 1.3 million people during the 2025 lean season to just 72,000 expected in February.
- In Borno State, 15,000 people are at risk of catastrophic hunger for the first time in nearly a decade.
- Funding shortfalls in 2025 forced the WFP to cut nutrition programmes, affecting over 300,000 children and worsening malnutrition in northern states.
- The crisis is worsened by insecurity, which disrupts food supply lines and puts 1.5 million vulnerable Nigerians at risk of crisis-level hunger.
- The WFP urgently needs over $453 million in the next six months to maintain humanitarian assistance across West and Central Africa.
