Northern Nigeria Facing Worst Hunger Crisis, WFP Warns

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…Says $89m Required In Six Months To Fight Hunger Crisis

LAGOS – The United Nations World Food Pro­gramme (WFP) has issued a fresh warning over Nigeria’s deepening food security crisis, revealing that more than 17 million people across conflict-affected states in the North are now battling acute hunger as worsening insecurity and se­vere funding shortages combine to push millions closer to famine.

The UN agency said the country’s humanitarian situation is deteriorating much faster than previously projected, with conflict-driven hunger in parts of northern Nigeria reaching levels not witnessed in almost a decade.

According to the latest Cadre Har­monisé food security analysis, more than 17 million people across nine conflict-af­fected northern states are experiencing crisis, emergency or catastrophic levels of food insecurity, representing an increase of nearly two million people compared to earlier pro­jections.

The report paints an alarm­ing picture for Borno State, the epicentre of Nigeria’s insur­gency, where renewed attacks by armed groups, widespread displacement and declining humanitarian assistance have significantly worsened hunger conditions.

The WFP disclosed that over three million people in Borno are now acutely food insecure.

Of this number, more than 750,000 people are facing severe hunger, while over 10,000 people have slipped into catastrophic hunger—the most extreme level of food insecurity where lives are at immediate risk.

Although those facing cata­strophic hunger account for a relatively small proportion of the state’s affected population, the agency warned that the figures signal a dangerous deterioration in humanitarian conditions.

Regional Director of the WFP for West and Central Africa, Kin­day Samba, said the organisation is increasingly worried by the rapid spread of insecurity be­yond traditional conflict zones.

“What concerns us most is how this crisis is expanding,” Samba said.

“For years, insurgent attacks and violence were largely con­centrated in parts of North-East Nigeria. Today, they are spreading across a much wider area and forcing people from farmland, driving displacement and restrict­ing humanitarian access, mean­ing hunger is quick to follow.”

According to the WFP, wors­ening insecurity is preventing farmers from cultivating their land, disrupting local food pro­duction and making it increas­ingly difficult for humanitarian agencies to deliver lifesaving assistance.

The agency revealed that the number of locations inaccessible to humanitarian workers has doubled in recent months.

An additional 15 communities are now classified as partially in­accessible due to escalating vio­lence, forcing aid workers to scale back operations in areas where humanitarian needs are greatest.

The report also highlighted growing security threats along major transportation corridors.

Frequent attacks, illegal checkpoints and deteriorating road conditions are disrupting the movement of humanitarian supplies, while air transport is increasingly becoming the only viable means of reaching some isolated communities.

Beyond insecurity, the WFP identified severe funding short­ages as another major factor worsening the humanitarian emergency.

According to the agency, while the number of food-insecure peo­ple across the three North-East­ern states has risen to 6.2 million, available resources now allow the organisation to provide assis­tance to only 740,000 people.

This leaves approximately 5.5 million vulnerable Nigerians, many of them women and chil­dren, without access to critical food and nutrition support.

The sharp decline in human­itarian assistance marks a sig­nificant reduction from the 1.3 million people the agency was able to support during the peak of the 2025 lean season.

Humanitarian officials warned that the suspension of food assistance is exposing vulnerable communities to in­creasingly desperate survival strategies.

According to the WFP, some affected communities have reported cases of individuals joining armed groups simply to obtain food or earn an income.

The agency said the trend underscores the dangerous link between worsening hunger and insecurity, warning that prolonged food shortages could further fuel instability across northern Nigeria.

Women and children, the re­port noted, are bearing the heavi­est burden.

The suspension of food assistance in some internally displaced persons’ camps due to funding shortages has trig­gered what the WFP described as a deeply alarming increase in exploitation, abuse and gen­der-based violence.

Without regular access to food, many vulnerable house­holds are becoming increasingly exposed to exploitation and other protection risks.

Samba warned that dwin­dling humanitarian resources are arriving at the worst possi­ble time.

“When people lose access to food, the risks of displacement, exploitation and instability in­crease. Yet resources are at their lowest at the time they are needed most,” he said.

The latest warning comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with multiple food security challeng­es beyond insurgency, including inflation, climate-related shocks, flooding, high transportation costs and rising agricultural in­put prices.

The country has also wit­nessed declining purchasing power among households, mak­ing food increasingly unafford­able even in relatively stable areas.

The WFP stressed that urgent financial support is needed to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deteriorating further.

According to the agency, it ur­gently requires 89 million dollars over the next six months to sus­tain food and nutrition assistance as well as critical logistics oper­ations across northern Nigeria.

The funding, it said, will en­able humanitarian partners to continue delivering lifesaving as­sistance before hunger deepens further, more communities are displaced and insecurity spreads to additional parts of the country.

The latest assessment is ex­pected to heighten concerns among policymakers and devel­opment partners over the urgent need to address the root causes of food insecurity in Nigeria, including persistent insecurity, climate change, weak agricultur­al productivity and inadequate humanitarian financing.

With millions already facing severe hunger and humanitarian agencies warning of shrinking operational capacity, experts say swift intervention is critical to avert a broader humanitarian catastrophe in Africa’s most populous nation.