Funding Crunch Pushes Millions Closer To Hunger As WFP Sounds Alarm In Northern Nigeria
As violence and displacement continue to tear through northern Nigeria, a fresh funding crisis is now threatening to deepen an already dire hunger emergency, putting more than one million vulnerable people at risk of losing life-saving food assistance within weeks.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that unless urgent new funding is secured, it will be forced to drastically scale back operations in northeast Nigeria, limiting assistance to just 72,000 people for the first time in the country’s history.
According to the latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis, nearly 35 million Nigerians are projected to face acute food insecurity during the 2026 lean season.
In Borno State alone, about 15,000 people are at risk of catastrophic hunger, one step away from famine, marking the worst levels recorded in a decade.
WFP Nigeria Country Director, David Stevenson, described the situation as a tipping point, warning that cutting food aid now could trigger catastrophic humanitarian, security and economic consequences.
Renewed violence has displaced millions, destroyed food reserves and worsened malnutrition, with 3.5 million people forced to flee their homes in just four months, most of them in northern states.
WFP says it urgently needs $129 million to sustain operations over the next six months. Without it, the agency warns of a potential full shutdown in northeast Nigeria, a move that could fuel further displacement, migration and insecurity.
For communities already on the edge, the message is clear: without swift international support, hunger may soon become even more deadly than conflict.
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