KEY POINTS

• Aid cuts in northeast Nigeria have worsened hunger for 1.2 million people.
• WFP assistance in Nigeria has dropped sharply amid funding shortfalls.
• West and Central Africa face rising crisis-level food insecurity.

Aid cuts in northeast Nigeria have pushed at least 1.2 million people deeper into hunger, the World Food Programme said, warning that funding shortfalls are compounding the effects of conflict, displacement and economic stress in the region.

The UN agency said reduced donor support forced it to scale back food and nutrition programmes in 2025, leaving hundreds of thousands without assistance at a time when needs are rising. The warning is based on the Cadre Harmonisé, a regional food security framework comparable to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification used to guide emergency responses.

In Nigeria alone, WFP said funding gaps last year disrupted nutrition services for more than 300,000 children, while malnutrition levels in several northern states deteriorated from “serious” to “critical.” The agency expects to reach just 72,000 people in February, a sharp drop from the 1.3 million supported during the 2025 lean season.

Aid cuts in northeast Nigeria strain food security

Nigeria is at the center of a broader regional crisis. Across West and Central Africa, an estimated 55 million people are projected to face crisis-level hunger or worse between June and August, the peak lean season. WFP expects 13 million children to suffer malnutrition this year, while more than three million people will experience emergency food insecurity, more than double the level recorded in 2020.

Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger account for about 77 percent of the region’s food-insecure population, according to WFP. In Borno State, about 15,000 people now face catastrophic hunger, marking the first time in nearly a decade that conditions have reached that level.

Conflict and displacement remain key drivers, but WFP said aid cuts in northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries are pushing communities beyond their ability to cope.

Aid cuts in northeast Nigeria heighten regional risks

“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. “As needs outpace funding, the risk of desperation grows, particularly among young people.”

WFP said it urgently needs more than $453 million over the next six months to sustain operations. In Cameroon, more than 500,000 vulnerable people could lose assistance in the coming weeks, while parts of Mali that received reduced rations saw acute hunger rise by nearly 65 percent.

Despite the challenges, WFP said its programmes have helped rehabilitate 300,000 hectares of farmland and supported more than four million people through school meals, nutrition, seasonal aid and infrastructure projects. Longford called for a “paradigm shift” in 2026 toward preparedness, anticipatory action and resilience-building to curb future crises.