UN to Cut Off Food Aid for 1.3 Million in Northeast Nigeria Over Funding Crisis

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced plans to suspend all emergency food and nutrition support for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria by the end of July due to a critical funding shortfall.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the UN agency cited escalating violence, record levels of hunger, and a total depletion of food and nutrition stocks as key reasons for the suspension.

“WFP’s food and nutrition stocks have been completely exhausted. The organisation’s last supplies left warehouses in early July, and life-saving assistance will end after the current round of distributions is completed,” the statement read.

The WFP warned that, without immediate financial intervention, millions of vulnerable Nigerians could be forced into devastating choices—such as enduring worsening hunger, migrating from their communities, or falling prey to recruitment by extremist groups operating in the region.

“Nearly 31 million people in Nigeria are now facing acute hunger, a record number,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Country Director for Nigeria.
“At the same time, WFP’s operations in northeast Nigeria will collapse without immediate, sustained funding. This is no longer just a humanitarian crisis; it’s a growing threat to regional stability, as families pushed beyond their limits are left with nowhere to turn.”

Children, particularly those under the age of two, are expected to be among the hardest hit. The UN revealed that over 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states will be forced to shut down, cutting off life-saving treatment for more than 300,000 children and dramatically increasing their risk of wasting.

“In conflict-affected northern areas, escalating violence from extremist groups is driving mass displacement. Some 2.3 million people across the Lake Chad Basin have been forced to flee their homes, straining already limited resources and pushing communities to the brink,” Stevenson added.

He further warned that, “When emergency assistance ends, many will migrate in search of food and shelter. Others will adopt negative coping mechanisms – including potentially joining insurgent groups – to survive. Food assistance can often prevent these outcomes. It allows us to feed families, help rebuild economies and support long-term recovery.”

Despite having reached 1.3 million people with life-saving support in the first half of 2025, the WFP stated that an additional 720,000 people were scheduled to receive assistance in the second half of the year—a plan now in jeopardy.

“WFP has the capacity and expertise to deliver and scale up its humanitarian response, but the critical funding gap is paralysing operations. WFP urgently requires US$130 million to prevent an imminent pipeline break and sustain food and nutrition operations through the end of 2025,” the statement concluded.

The WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, committed to saving lives in emergencies and fostering peace, stability, and prosperity through food assistance in conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable regions.

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