By Ayomide Otitoju
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that thousands of people in northeast Nigeria are facing the threat of catastrophic food shortages for the first time in nearly a decade, as funding cuts exacerbate malnutrition across the region.
In Borno State alone, around 15,000 people are at risk, while over 13 million children across the Northeast are projected to suffer from malnutrition this year, the WFP said on Friday.
Years of conflict, displacement, and economic pressures have driven persistent food insecurity, but reductions in humanitarian aid are now pushing vulnerable communities beyond their capacity to cope. “The reduced funding we saw in 2025 has deepened hunger and malnutrition across the region,” said Sarah Longford, WFP’s deputy regional director for West and Central Africa.
The agency reported that across West and Central Africa, 55 million people are experiencing severe food shortages, with more than three-quarters in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
Funding shortfalls in 2025 forced the WFP to scale back nutrition programmes in Nigeria, leaving over 300,000 children without assistance. In February, the agency projects it will only be able to reach 72,000 people, a sharp drop from the 1.3 million assisted during the 2025 lean season.
Elsewhere in the region, insecurity in Mali has disrupted food supply routes, putting 1.5 million people at crisis-level hunger, while over half a million people in Cameroon risk losing access to aid in the coming weeks.
The WFP said it urgently requires more than $453 million over the next six months to sustain life-saving assistance in West and Central Africa. Without immediate funding, the UN warned, the most vulnerable populations face yet another year of severe hunger.
“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,” Longford said.
The agency emphasized that without urgent support, communities across northeast Nigeria and the wider region could face unprecedented levels of malnutrition and food insecurity.
