Abuja: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will be forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria at the end of July. This is due to critical funding shortfalls which come at a time of escalating violence and record levels of hunger.
According to African Press Organization, WFP’s food and nutrition stocks have been completely exhausted. The organization’s last supplies left warehouses in early July, and life-saving assistance will end after the current round of distributions is completed.
Without immediate funding, millions of vulnerable people will face impossible choices: endure increasingly severe hunger, migrate, or possibly risk exploitation by extremist groups in the region. 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, as it allows for feeding families, helping to rebuild economies, and supporting long-term recovery.
In the first half of 2025, WFP has been able to hold hunger at bay across northern Nigeria, reaching 1.3 million people with life-saving food and nutrition assistance. 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.
WFP has the capacity and expertise to deliver and scale-up its humanitarian response, but the critical funding gap is paralyzing operations. WFP urgently requires US$130 million to prevent an imminent pipeline break and sustain food and nutrition operations through the end of 2025.