NIGERIA is facing its worst hunger crisis in nearly a decade as deep cuts in humanitarian assistance push vulnerable communities in the country’s conflict-ravaged northeast to the brink, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
In a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Friday, the UN agency said thousands of people in northeastern Nigeria are now at risk of catastrophic food shortages for the first time in almost ten years, with Borno State emerging as one of the most severely affected areas.
According to the WFP, about 15,000 people in Borno alone are facing an extreme risk of hunger, while more than 13 million children across Nigeria’s Northeast are projected to suffer from malnutrition in 2026 if urgent action is not taken.
The agency said prolonged conflict, mass displacement and worsening economic pressures have fueled food insecurity in the region for years, but recent cuts to humanitarian funding have pushed already vulnerable communities beyond their capacity to cope.
“The reduced funding we saw in 2025 has deepened hunger and malnutrition across the region,” said Sarah Longford, WFP’s Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Communities that were barely surviving are now facing life-threatening food shortages.”
The warning comes amid a broader food security crisis across West and Central Africa, where the WFP estimates that about 55 million people are currently facing severe hunger. More than three-quarters of those affected are in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, making the region one of the world’s most acute hunger hotspots.
While the UN agency did not specify the exact funding shortfalls affecting its operations, humanitarian organisations have repeatedly raised concerns since 2025, following significant reductions in global aid budgets. The cuts intensified after the United States scaled back foreign assistance under its “America First” policy, while the United Kingdom and several European countries reduced aid spending to channel more resources into defence.
In Nigeria, the impact of the funding crisis has already been severe. The WFP disclosed that it was forced to scale back critical nutrition programmes in 2025, affecting more than 300,000 children. The agency had earlier warned that nearly 35 million people across the country could face hunger as its resources were projected to run out by December.
The situation is expected to worsen in the coming months. According to the WFP, it will only be able to assist about 72,000 people in Nigeria in February, a sharp decline from the 1.3 million people it supported during the 2025 lean season, when food shortages typically peak.
Beyond Nigeria, the agency warned of worsening hunger across the region. In Mali, persistent insecurity has disrupted key food supply routes, leaving about 1.5 million people facing crisis-level hunger. In Cameroon, more than half a million people risk being cut off from life-saving aid in the coming weeks due to funding and access constraints.
The WFP said it urgently requires more than $453 million over the next six months to sustain humanitarian assistance across West and Central Africa, including food distribution, nutrition support and emergency interventions for displaced populations.
Without immediate funding and coordinated action, the agency warned that millions of the most vulnerable people could be plunged into yet another devastating year of hunger.
“To break the cycle of hunger for future generations, we need a paradigm shift in 2026,” Longford said. “National governments and their partners must increase investment in preparedness, anticipatory action and resilience-building to empower communities and reduce long-term dependence on aid.”