North Eastern Nigeria

A record 30.6 million Nigerians are facing food insecurity, driven by conflict, climate shocks, displacement and the systemic collapse of local food systems.

Escalating insurgent attacks are fuelling the unprecedented hunger crisis, driving mass displacement, collapsing livelihoods and creating fertile ground for armed group recruitment.

The northeast - particularly Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states - remains the epicentre of the crisis, with nearly 5 million people facing acute food insecurity and limited access to assistance.

It comes just as the stabilizing lifeline of food assistance risks disappearing entirely due to lack of funding.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been holding hunger at bay in northern Nigeria through the first half of the year, reaching more than 1.3 million people with life-saving assistance and reducing malnutrition admissions among children in areas it supports.  

However, our food and nutrition programmes are on the verge of suspension in conflict-affected communities from August due to critical funding shortfalls. Without urgent support, life-saving assistance will halt at a time of record need.

A total of 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states – home to some of the highest levels of hunger and malnutrition – have shut down, leaving 300,000 children at risk of wasting (low weight for height).

WFP urgently requires US$130 million to prevent the imminent suspension of assistance for 1.3 million people and sustain lifesaving operations through 2025.