UN to Suspend Food Aid in Northeast Nigeria Amid Critical Funding Shortfalls and Surging Hunger
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is facing a dire situation in Northeast Nigeria and will be forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in the region by the end of July 2025. This critical decision is primarily due to severe funding shortfalls, coming at a time when the region is experiencing escalating violence and record levels of hunger.
Key Factors Leading to the Suspension:
Critical Funding Shortfalls: WFP has reported that its food and nutrition stocks are "completely exhausted." The organization's last supplies left warehouses in early July, and life-saving assistance will cease after the current round of distributions is completed. WFP urgently requires US$130 million to prevent an imminent "pipeline break" and to sustain food and nutrition operations through the end of 2025.
Record Levels of Hunger: Nearly 31 million people in Nigeria are currently facing acute hunger, a record number. This crisis is driven by a combination of factors:
Depleted food stocks at the household level.
Soaring food prices and high inflation.
Currency depreciation.
Ongoing conflict and insecurity.
Impact of climate change, including devastating floods.
Escalating Insecurity: The conflict in Northeast Nigeria, which has been ongoing for 15 years, continues to cause mass displacement and disrupt agriculture. Escalating violence from extremist groups is a major driver of food insecurity and makes humanitarian access incredibly challenging.
Attacks on Civilians and Aid Workers: There have been increased attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure, making people more vulnerable and impeding access to life-saving assistance. While not explicitly stated as the direct cause of the suspension (funding is the primary driver), the prevailing insecurity undeniably complicates aid delivery and exacerbates the humanitarian need. Humanitarian workers, including those from IOM, have faced targeted attacks.
Displacement: Approximately 2.3 million people across the Lake Chad Basin (which includes parts of Northeast Nigeria) have been forced to flee their homes, straining already limited resources and pushing communities to the brink.
Consequences of the Aid Suspension:
Humanitarian Catastrophe: Without immediate funding, millions of vulnerable people will face impossible choices: endure increasingly severe hunger, migrate in search of food, or potentially risk exploitation by extremist groups in the region.
Impact on Children: Children will be among the worst affected. More than 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states are expected to close, ending potentially life-saving treatment for over 300,000 children under two and placing them at increased risk of wasting (acute malnutrition). Globally, Nigeria has one of the highest levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, with an estimated 2.5 million children projected to be severely acutely malnourished in 2025.
Regional Instability: WFP Country Director for Nigeria, David Stevenson, warned that if WFP's operations collapse, it 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."
Reduced Reach: In the first half of 2025, WFP managed to reach 1.3 million people with life-saving food and nutrition assistance. However, support for an additional 720,000 people was planned for the second half of the year before funding shortfalls jeopardized these programs.
Calls for Action:
The WFP and other humanitarian organizations are urgently appealing to the international community and donors to provide immediate and sustained funding to prevent a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe in Northeast Nigeria. They emphasize that early action is critical to mitigate the worst impacts of the lean season, which exacerbates food insecurity, particularly for children and pregnant/breastfeeding mothers.
This impending suspension highlights the severe challenges in sustaining humanitarian responses globally, often due to shrinking donor funds and competing crises.
I'm Aisha shehu
Talksocialtalka News
