The World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an urgent warning that more than one million people in northeast Nigeria could lose access to emergency food and nutrition assistance within weeks without new funding, the agency said. For the first time in the country, WFP will have to limit its aid to just 72,000 people due to a severe shortage of resources.
Nigeria is facing one of its worst hunger crises in recent memory. Nearly 35 million people are projected to experience critical food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, according to the latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis. In Borno State alone, some 15,000 people are on the brink of catastrophic hunger—one step away from famine. “Now is not the time to stop food assistance,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Country Director in Nigeria. “This will lead to catastrophic humanitarian, security, and economic consequences for the most vulnerable people who have been forced to flee their homes in search of food and shelter.”
WFP has been operating in northeast Nigeria since 2015, reaching close to two million people every year. Its programs combine emergency food support with projects that help communities recover from shocks and build resilience over time. Much of WFP’s assistance is sourced locally to strengthen smallholder value chains and support self-sufficient growth.
But recent violence has torn through already fragile communities, forcing 3.5 million people from their homes in just four months—80 percent of them in the north. Farms, storage facilities, and food reserves have been destroyed, leaving malnutrition at “critical” levels across several northern states. Despite generous funding earlier in the year, WFP’s current resources are fully depleted.
“If WFP cannot continue supporting displaced families, they will leave camps in a desperate attempt to survive,” Stevenson warned. “Some may try to migrate, while others could be pushed toward joining armed groups out of sheer desperation.”
The agency needs $129 million over the next six months to keep its operations running in northeast Nigeria—or risk a complete halt to life-saving assistance.
