World Food Programme Warns Of Imminent Hunger Crisis in Nigeria.

By Ferdinand Olise

The United Nations World Food Programme, (WFP), has issued a warning over an impending humanitarian disaster in Northeast Nigeria, where over 1 million people are at risk of losing emergency food aid due to a critical funding shortage.

The WFP also warned that without urgent support, it would be forced to limit assistance to just 72,000 people, pushing many to the brink of starvation.

This was contained in a statement issued by WFP. According to the statement, the situation is dire, with nearly 35 million Nigerians projected to face acute food insecurity in 2026.

According to the most recent Cadre Harmonisé – the equivalent of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classication, (IPC), for West and Central Africa, an estimated 15,000 people in Borno State are at risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) – one step away from famine.

The WFP’s Nigeria Country Director, David Stevenson, said this is the worst level of hunger recorded in a decade, noting that now is not the time to stop food assistance.

The crisis is fueled by renewed violence, displacement, and economic hardship, with 3.5 million people forced to flee their homes in the past four months alone.

The WFP’s Nigeria Country Director said, “WFP’s work in Nigeria combines emergency assistance with critical support to help communities withstand food shocks and reduce aid dependency over time.

“Now is not the time to stop food assistance. This will lead to catastrophic humanitarian, security, and economic consequences for the most vulnerable people.”

The WFP is therefore seeking $129 million to sustain operations in Northeast Nigeria over the next six months, stating that without this funding, the organization will face a full operational shutdown in the region, leaving millions without access to life-saving aid.

“If WFP cannot continue supporting the displaced populations in camps, they will leave the sites in a desperate attempt to survive,” Stevenson warned. “They will try to migrate, or they may join insurgent groups to feed themselves and their families.”

According to the organisation, WFP’s home-grown solutions support the local economy by procuring assistance domestically to strengthen value chains and promote self-suficiency.

The Organisation also noted that, renewed violence has devastated fragile rural communities, displacing families, destroying food reserves, and accelerating alarming levels of hunger and insecurity, noting that in the past four months alone, 3.5 million people were forced to flee their homes with 80 percent of them located in the country’s North.

Meanwhile, malnutrition rates across several Northern States have worsened too, reaching critical levels. Despite generous contributions that sustained WFP’s life-saving aid to the most vulnerable in recent months, those limited resources have now been exhausted.