WFP warns of imminent food assistance cuts in Nigeria as violence and hunger surges across the north

Nigeria is facing one of the worst hunger crises in recent times. Nearly 35 million people are projected to experience acute and severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, according to the most recent Cadre Harmonisé - the equivalent of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for West and Central Africa. Of these, an estimated 15,000 people in Borno State are at risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) - one step away from famine. It’s the worst levels of hunger recorded in a decade.

“Now is not the time to stop food assistance,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Nigeria Country Director. “This will lead to catastrophic humanitarian, security and economic consequences for the most vulnerable people who have been forced to flee their homes in search of food and shelter. Humanitarian solutions are still possible and are one of the last stabilizing forces preventing mass displacement and regional spillover.”

WFP has been providing food assistance in northeast Nigeria since 2015, reaching nearly two million women, men, and children in hard hit areas each year. WFP’s work in Nigeria combines emergency assistance with critical support to help communities withstand food shocks and reduce aid dependency over time. WFP’s home-grown solutions support the local economy by procuring assistance domestically to strengthen value chains and promote self-sufficiency.

However, renewed violence has devastated fragile rural communities, displacing families, destroying food reserves, and accelerating alarming levels of hunger and insecurity. In the past four months alone, 3.5 million people were forced to flee their homes  with 80 percent of these located in the country’s north.

Malnutrition rates across several northern states have worsened too, reaching ‘critical’ levels.

Despite generous contributions that sustained WFP’s life-saving aid to the most vulnerable in recent months, those limited resources have now been exhausted.

“If WFP cannot continue supporting the displaced populations in camps, they will leave the sites in a desperate attempt to survive. They will try to migrate, or they may join insurgent groups to feed themselves and their families,” Stevenson said.

WFP urgently requires USD129 million to sustain its operations in northeast Nigeria over the next six months. Without this funding, the organization faces the risk of a full operational shutdown in the region.

#          #          #

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp, @wfp_nigeria