The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s worsening food security situation, warning that rising insecurity and declining humanitarian funding are leaving millions of people across northern Nigeria at greater risk of hunger.
In a statement released on Thursday, the agency said it urgently needs $89 million over the next six months to sustain food and nutrition assistance, alongside essential logistics operations in the region.
According to the WFP, failure to secure the required funding could worsen hunger levels, trigger further displacement, and increase instability in affected communities.
The agency cited the latest Cadre Harmonisé food security assessment, which shows that more than 17 million people across nine conflict-affected northern states are facing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of food insecurity. The figure represents an increase of nearly two million people compared to the previous assessment.
Borno State remains one of the hardest-hit areas, with renewed insurgent attacks and reduced humanitarian support leaving over three million people in urgent need of food assistance. Among them, more than 750,000 people are experiencing severe hunger, while over 10,000 are facing catastrophic hunger—the highest level of food insecurity.
Although those in catastrophic conditions make up a small percentage of the affected population, the WFP said the numbers reflect the growing impact of conflict, displacement, and shrinking humanitarian assistance.
WFP Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Kinday Samba, said the crisis is spreading beyond its traditional hotspots in the northeast, with violence now affecting wider areas, displacing farming communities, limiting humanitarian access, and accelerating food shortages.
The organisation also reported that humanitarian operations are becoming increasingly difficult due to worsening security conditions and funding constraints. It noted that the number of locations inaccessible to its frontline workers has doubled, while attacks and illegal checkpoints along major transport routes continue to disrupt the movement of relief supplies.
In several communities, the agency said air transport has become the only reliable means of delivering humanitarian aid.
Despite the growing need, funding shortages have forced the WFP to significantly reduce its operations. Of the 6.2 million people facing food insecurity across the three northeastern states, the agency currently has enough resources to assist only about 740,000 people, leaving roughly 5.5 million people, including many children, without lifesaving food and nutrition support.
The WFP said this marks a significant decline from the 1.3 million people it was able to reach during the peak of the 2025 lean season.
The agency warned that the reduction in assistance is driving vulnerable families to adopt desperate survival strategies. In some communities, reports indicate that individuals are joining armed groups in search of food or income, raising fresh security concerns.
It also expressed concern that the suspension of food aid in some displacement camps due to funding shortages has contributed to a rise in exploitation and gender-based violence, with women and children among the most affected.
The WFP stressed that without immediate financial support, the humanitarian crisis could worsen significantly as millions continue to struggle with hunger across northern Nigeria.
