Over one million people in northeast Nigeria risk losing access to emergency food and nutrition support unless urgent funding is secured “within weeks,” the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
In a statement released on Thursday, the WFP described Nigeria as facing one of the worst hunger crises in recent memory. As the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, WFP provides life-saving food assistance and supports communities in recovering from conflict, disasters, and climate-related impacts.
“The WFP is raising the alarm as more than one million people in northeast Nigeria may be cut off from critical food and nutrition aid unless urgent funding is received,” the statement said.
The agency added that violence across northern Nigeria has forced it to reduce aid from 1.3 million people to just 72,000.
“If we cannot continue providing support to displaced populations in camps, people will be forced to leave in search of survival,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Nigeria Country Director. “Some may attempt to migrate, while others could join armed groups to feed themselves and their families.”
The WFP also noted that nearly 35 million people nationwide are projected to experience acute and severe food insecurity during the lean season. In Borno State alone, roughly 15,000 people are at risk of falling into catastrophic hunger, one step away from famine.
“The crisis is escalating amid renewed violence in the north, which has destroyed rural communities, displaced families, and decimated food reserves,” Stevenson said.
He stressed that halting aid now could have devastating humanitarian, security, and economic consequences for the most vulnerable populations who have already been forced from their homes. “Humanitarian interventions remain one of the last stabilising forces preventing mass displacement and wider regional impacts,” he added.
The WFP described the current hunger levels as the worst in a decade. It is urgently seeking $129 million to sustain operations in northeast Nigeria over the next six months. The agency warned that its programs could shut down without immediate funding.
