The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said that it will be
forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million
people in northeast Nigeria at the end of July.
A Wednesday statement by the UN said the decision was due to critical
funding shortfalls, which come at a time of escalating violence and record
levels of hunger in the country.
David Stevenson, WFP Country Director for Nigeria, said that without
immediate funding, millions of vulnerable people will face impossible
choices such as enduring increasingly severe hunger, migration, or
possibly risking exploitation by extremist groups in the region.
The UN though noted that children will be among the worst affected if vital
aid ends, saying that more than 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in
Borno and Yobe states will close, ending potentially life-saving treatment
for more than 300,000 children under two and placing them at increased
risk of wasting.
In the first half of 2025, the World Food Programme said it has been able to
hold hunger at bay across northern Nigeria, reaching 1.3 million people
with life-saving food and nutrition assistance.
It however, added that the support for an additional 720,000 people was
planned for the second half of the year before funding shortfalls put life-
saving programmes in jeopardy.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest
humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food
assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people
recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
