Nigeria is sliding deeper into a hunger emergency as sharp cuts in humanitarian funding drastically reduce food assistance, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
According to the agency, the number of Nigerians receiving food aid has collapsed from about 1.3 million people during the 2025 lean season to just 72,000 expected to be reached in February, highlighting the severity of the funding gap.
The WFP said Nigeria now sits at the epicentre of a widening food crisis across West and Central Africa, alongside Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Together, the four countries account for more than three-quarters of all food-insecure people in the region.
In Borno State alone, an estimated 15,000 people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger, the most extreme classification, marking a troubling return to conditions not seen in nearly a decade.
Funding shortages last year forced the WFP to scale back critical nutrition programmes in Nigeria, leaving over 300,000 children without support. Since then, malnutrition indicators in several northern states have worsened, shifting from “serious” to “critical” levels.
“The funding reductions we saw in 2025 have significantly deepened hunger and malnutrition,” said Sarah Longford, WFP Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “As needs continue to outpace resources, the risk of desperation, particularly among young people, is growing.”
The crisis has been compounded by persistent insecurity, which continues to disrupt food production, supply routes and humanitarian access. The WFP estimates that 1.5 million of Nigeria’s most vulnerable people now face crisis-level hunger, even as aid agencies struggle to sustain operations.
Regionally, the WFP says it urgently requires more than $453 million over the next six months to maintain lifesaving assistance. Without renewed funding and a shift toward resilience-focused interventions, the agency warned that hunger, malnutrition and instability will intensify.
Longford urged governments and development partners to prioritise early action, preparedness and resilience-building to prevent further deterioration. “Breaking the cycle of hunger requires a fundamental shift in approach in 2026,” she said.
Analysts have also raised concerns about the broader economic implications. Afrinvest warned that worsening insecurity and displacement could undermine food supply chains, weaken investor confidence and derail cautious optimism for 2026. PwC similarly cautioned that food insecurity and climate shocks could fuel inflation and deepen economic strain if left unchecked.
The worsening outlook follows reduced aid flows from major donors, including the United States, as Western countries redirect spending toward defence priorities.
