Food Aid reductions Threaten the Lives of One Million People in Northeast Nigeria — WFP

At least one million people in northeast Nigeria could lose access to emergency food and nutrition support unless funding is secured “within weeks,” the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

In a statement on Thursday, WFP described Nigeria as facing one of the most severe hunger crises in recent memory. As the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, WFP provides lifesaving assistance in emergencies while supporting communities recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impacts of climate change.

“The United Nations World Food Programme is raising the alarm as more than one million people in northeast Nigeria risk losing emergency food and nutrition support within weeks unless urgent new funding is received,” the statement said. “Violence is intensifying in the north, and WFP is being forced to cut aid from 1.3 million people down to just 72,000.”

“If WFP cannot continue supporting displaced populations in camps, many will be forced to leave in search of survival. They may attempt to migrate or, in extreme cases, join armed groups to provide for themselves and their families,” said WFP Nigeria Country Director David Stevenson.

WFP projects that nearly 35 million people could face acute and severe food insecurity during the lean season. In Borno State alone, around 15,000 people are at risk of falling into catastrophic hunger, one step away from famine.

“The crisis is unfolding amid renewed violence across the north, devastating rural communities, displacing families, and destroying food reserves. Now is not the time to halt food assistance,” Stevenson added. “Stopping aid would have catastrophic humanitarian, security, and economic consequences for the most vulnerable populations who have fled their homes.”

He emphasised that humanitarian interventions remain one of the few stabilising forces preventing mass displacement and broader regional instability.

WFP described the current hunger levels as the worst seen in a decade and is urgently seeking $129 million to sustain its operations in northeast Nigeria over the next six months. The agency warned that its programmes could shut down entirely without this funding.