Nigeria: Millions Face Catastrophic Hunger

Severe hunger is affecting over 17 million people across nine conflict-torn states in northern Nigeria. The United Nations food agency reports that insecurity and reduced funding have pushed food insecurity to its most critical point in nearly a decade. This escalating crisis means nearly two million more people are now facing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic hunger than previously projected.

The deepening humanitarian crisis is a direct consequence of ongoing violence. In the northeast, Islamist insurgents and armed gangs in other northern regions have displaced communities, prevented farming, and hindered aid delivery. Borno state, at the epicenter of the insurgency, has over 3 million food-insecure residents, with more than 750,000 facing extreme hunger conditions. This situation is particularly dire during the lean season.

The World Food Programme is struggling to provide assistance, able to support less than half the people it reached last year in three northeast states where 6.2 million are food insecure. To maintain essential food, nutrition, and logistics support across northern Nigeria for the next six months, the agency urgently requires $89 million.