The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it may be forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition assistance for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria by the end of July due to a severe funding shortfall.
WFP’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Margot van der Velden, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing UN correspondents on the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.
According to her, the agency urgently requires $130 million to continue delivering emergency food and nutrition support over the next six months.
“In Nigeria today, just to give you an impression, 31 million people are facing acute food insecurity and are in need of life-saving assistance.
“And to put this in perspective, this is equivalent to the entire population of Texas (in the U.S.) going hungry.
“However, due to the severe funding cuts that the World Food Programme is facing, we have exhausted our food and nutrition resources,” she said.
Velden added that while WFP has been able to hold hunger at bay across northern Nigeria in the first half of 2025, funding shortfalls were jeopardizing such efforts.
End of July marks a critical turning point
She expressed regret that life-saving programmes could stop by the end of July due to a lack of immediate funding.
“And at the beginning of August, we will have to face the heartbreaking reality of having to suspend our operations for the populations in northeast Nigeria.
“And so, our teams will have to tell the population that they no longer will receive aid, not because there is no need, but because there are no resources for that assistance,
“So, more than 1.3 million people, including 300,000 infants, could lose life-saving food assistance and nutritional support,” she explained.
According to her, vulnerable people could be left without food assistance as WFP’s food and nutrition stocks had been completely exhausted, with its last supplies leaving warehouses in early July.
With life-saving assistance set to end after the current round of distributions is completed, Velden said millions of vulnerable people could face impossible choices.
Rising hunger, displacement, and risk of exploitation
The WFP official added that the vulnerable will have to endure increasingly severe hunger, migrate or even risk possible exploitation by extremist groups in the region.
She again expressed regret that the critical funding shortfalls came at a time of escalating violence and record levels of hunger.
As mass displacement strains the already limited resources and pushes communities to the brink, Velden said the lack of emergency food assistance risks increasing recruitment by extremist groups.
“When emergency assistance ends, many will migrate in search of food and shelter.
“Others will adopt negative coping mechanisms, including potentially joining insurgent groups, to survive.
“Without immediate funds, over 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics will close, ending potentially life-saving treatment for more than 300,000 children,” she stressed.
Commendation for government support, call for collaboration
While responding to questions, Velden commended both the Nigerian government and the Borno State government for their efforts in tackling the humanitarian crisis in the northeast.
“I think the government of Nigeria, as well as the governor in Borno state, have a very clear vision of a response and a plan,” she said.
She also commended the government for addressing the urgent humanitarian needs and finding longer-term solutions, including the reintegration of some of the repentant fighters (belonging to extremist groups).
According to her, the Nigerian government is currently the largest financier of the emergency response in the region.
However, she stressed that the scale and complexity of the crisis require collaborative efforts to explore new sources of funding, as well as sustainable programmes that can offer long-term hope and stability.
