Thousands of people in Nigeria’s strife-torn northeast are at risk of catastrophic food shortages for the first time in nearly a decade.
The United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) issued this warning on Friday.
According to the WFP, aid reductions are worsening malnutrition across the region, with Borno state particularly affected, where around 15,000 people are in immediate danger.
The WFP said that across West and Central Africa, 55 million people are experiencing severe food shortages, with more than three-quarters of those affected living in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
What they are saying
According to the agency, funding shortfalls forced it to scale back nutrition programs in Nigeria, affecting over 300,000 children, while nearly 35 million people risk going hungry as the agency’s resources ran out in December.
“As needs outpace funding, so too does the risk of young people falling into desperation. It’s critical that we support communities in crisis, so that rampant hunger doesn’t drive further unrest, displacement and conflict across the region,” said Sarah Longford, WFP’s deputy regional director for West and Central Africa.
In other parts of West and Central Africa, insecurity in Mali has disrupted food supply routes, leaving 1.5 million people facing crisis-level hunger, and over 500,000 people in Cameroon risk being cut off from aid in the coming weeks.
The U.N. agency said it requires more than $453 million over the next six months to continue providing humanitarian assistance across the region.
Aid reductions from major donors are a key driver of the worsening food crisis. The Trump administration’s “America First” policy in 2025 and budget cuts from the UK and other countries aimed at boosting defense spending have decreased funding for humanitarian programs.
Conflict, displacement, and economic pressures have long contributed to food insecurity in the region. Now, the gap in international aid is pushing already vulnerable communities beyond their coping capacity, particularly children.
Nigeria’s northeast has faced years of militant unrest, which has disrupted agriculture and food distribution, creating chronic food insecurity. Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that cuts to aid funding could lead to the most severe hunger crisis in the region in over a decade.
What you should know
- In its Economic Outlook 2026 report, PwC projected that Nigeria will face a worsening food security crisis in 2026, with up to 34.7 million people at risk of acute food insecurity.
- Nairametrics previously reported that farmers in the North-Central and North-West regions warned of abandoning farming due to rising production costs, insecurity, and massive post-harvest losses.
- Similarly, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has projected that about 34.7 million Nigerians could face severe food insecurity during the June–August 2026 lean season, based on its October 2025 Cadre Harmonisé analysis.
