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Nigeria Faces Worst Hunger in a Decade as Aid Cuts Hit Northeast
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that thousands of people in northeast Nigeria could face catastrophic food shortages for the first time in nearly a decade. Aid cuts have worsened malnutrition across the region.
Hunger Crisis in Northeast Nigeria
In Borno State alone, about 15,000 people are at risk. The WFP projects that more than 13 million children in the Northeast may suffer from malnutrition this year.
Conflict, displacement, and economic pressures have long driven food insecurity. Now, cuts to humanitarian assistance are pushing vulnerable communities past their ability to cope.
“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.
Regional Impact
Across West and Central Africa, 55 million people are facing severe food shortages. More than three-quarters of those affected live in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
Insecurity in Mali has disrupted food supply routes, leaving 1.5 million people at crisis-level hunger. In Cameroon, over half a million people may be cut off from aid in the coming weeks.
Funding Shortages
Funding shortfalls in 2025 forced WFP to scale back nutrition programmes in Nigeria, affecting more than 300,000 children. By December, the agency warned that nearly 35 million people could go hungry as resources ran out.
“In Nigeria, WFP will only be able to reach 72,000 people in February, a drastic reduction from the 1.3 million assisted during the 2025 lean season,” the agency said.
The WFP urgently requires over $453 million in the next six months to maintain life-saving humanitarian assistance in the region.
Call for Action
Longford emphasized the need for a long-term solution: “To break the cycle of hunger for future generations, we need a paradigm shift in 2026. National governments and their partners must increase investment in preparedness, anticipatory action, and resilience-building to empower communities.”
Without urgent resources, the most vulnerable people in West and Central Africa face another dire year of hunger and malnutrition.
