With over 220 million people, Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and the sixth in the world. It is the tenth-largest producer of crude oil in the world and achieved lower-middle-income status in 2014. However, around 84 million Nigerians, representing about 37 percent of the total population, live below the poverty line.

Conflict and insecurity, rising inflation and the impact of the climate crisis continue to drive hunger in Nigeria – with 26.5 million people across the country projected to face acute hunger in the June-August 2024 lean season. This is a staggering increase from the 18.6 million people food insecure at the end of 2023.

Conflict in the North East region has displaced 2.2 million people and left another 4.4 million food insecure in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. Three million of them are in Borno State, the epicentre of insurgency. Nigeria is subject to periodic droughts and floods. This has had an adverse impact on agricultural output and increased the vulnerability of populations, especially in rural areas.

Insurgent activities have added pressure to a fragile resource environment, deepened insecurity, hampered development, and heightened the food and nutrition insecurity of vulnerable women and children.

The World Food Programe is prioritizing its operations to reach 1.1 million vulnerable people every month in northern Nigeria. Those receiving assistance include displaced people living in camps or host communities, as well as vulnerable members of host communities and people returning home after months of displacement.

What the World Food Programme is doing in Nigeria

Food assistance
WFP uses either food or cash transfers to support displaced people living in camps or with host communities, as well as vulnerable host populations. With diminishing resources, WFP is prioritizing its operations to reach 1.1 million vulnerable people every month in northern Nigeria.
Nutrition
WFP provides specialized nutritious food to children under 5 at risk of malnutrition, and pregnant and to nursing women. Jointly with UNICEF and NGO partners, WFP delivers essential health and nutrition services to prevent and treat acute malnutrition. Surveys in camps for internally displaced people in Borno State show a significant drop in malnutrition rates among the population supported by WFP and other humanitarian agencies. However, overall malnutrition figures remain very high, especially in the more remote, conflict-affected areas in the northeast.
Resilience
In collaboration with the Government of Nigeria and other partners, WFP is implementing livelihoods programmes and income-generating activities. We give cash to people in the short term, while providing training so displaced people can acquire skills and employment in the long term, in areas such as food processing, aquaculture, vegetable gardening, tailoring and carpentry.
Capacity strengthening
WFP supports to the Government of Nigeria in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition. This includes supporting policy development, providing technical assistance to Africa’s largest nationally owned home-grown school feeding programme, institutionalizing shock-responsive social protection at the national level, and focusing on systems strengthening in areas such as Sokoto State.
Logistics
The WFP-led Logistics Sector – part of the Logistics Cluster – supports the response to humanitarian needs across northeast Nigeria. It offers humanitarian organizations logistics coordination, information management, access to common storage facilities, and capacity strengthening, to support emergency preparedness and response. These services are provided to over 90 organizations, including government agencies, the United Nations and NGOs.
Emergency Telecommunications Service
The Emergency Telecommunications Service (ETS) provides secured communication and internet connectivity in nine field hub locations. ETS also deploys the CrisisNet kits – a portable on-the-go replica of the communications systems set up in the hubs to provide emergency connectivity for humanitarian responders, anytime, anywhere. Overall, ETS provides security communication and internet connectivity to 3,000 users from over 90 organizations, including United Nations agencies and NGOs.
UN Humanitarian Air Service
WFP provides air transport to the entire humanitarian community, including helicopters to carry vital relief – vaccines, medicine, medical equipment and staff – to hard-to-reach, isolated areas. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by WFP, was transporting over 3,700 passengers a month by the end of 2023. UNHAS was also transporting 10.2 mt of light humanitarian cargo each month, reaching 14 locations. UNHAS passenger and cargo services support more than 80 organizations in Nigeria.

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Partners and donors

Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Nigeria is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:
Canada European Commission France Japan Sweden

Operations in Nigeria

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Contacts

Office

Asokoro
Nigeria

Phone
+2349070250844; +2349070250847; +2348025537824
Email
wfp.abuja@wfp.org
For media inquiries
wfp.abuja@wfp.org
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