The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an urgent warning of a record-level hunger crisis in Northeast Nigeria, where a “toxic combination” of 15 years of violent insurgency, escalating conflict, and severe funding shortages is pushing millions toward famine.
According to the latest Cadre Harmonisé report, the region’s benchmark for measuring food insecurity, 1.2 million people in the Northeast are now facing deepening hunger. In Borno State alone, 15,000 people are at risk of catastrophic hunger for the first time in nearly a decade.
“Funding shortfalls last year forced WFP to scale down nutrition programmes, affecting more than 300,000 children,” the agency stated. As a result, malnutrition levels in several northern states have deteriorated from “serious” to “critical.” The UN agency now expects to reach only 72,000 people in February, a drastic drop from the 1.3 million it assisted during the 2025 lean season.
“The reduced funding we saw in 2025 has deepened hunger and malnutrition across the region,” said Sarah Longford, WFP Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “As needs outpace funding, so too does the risk of young people falling into desperation.”
The crisis extends far beyond Nigeria’s borders. Across West and Central Africa, 55 million people are expected to face crisis-level hunger or worse during the June–August 2025 lean season. WFP projects 13 million children will suffer from malnutrition this year, while more than three million people face emergency-level food insecurity, more than double the figure recorded in 2020.
Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger together account for 77 percent of the region’s food insecurity.
A Plea for Immediate Aid
WFP has highlighted that without an urgent injection of funds, the humanitarian response will continue to collapse. The agency requires over $453 mmillin in the next six months to sustain life-saving assistance across the region.
Evidence from neighboring Mali further showscase the consequences of ration cuts: areas receiving reduced food support saw a 65 percent surge in acute hunger, compared to a 34 percent decrease where full rations were maintained.
