Cliff Notes – Parts of Nigeria are in crisis
- The UN World Food Program warns that nearly 35 million people in Northern Nigeria could face severe food insecurity by 2026, exacerbated by militant attacks and economic instability.
- Ongoing funding shortages have led to cuts in nutrition programs, impacting over 300,000 children as nearly 6 million lack basic food supplies in affected states.
- Increasing jihadist violence, including mass abductions, is compounding the humanitarian crisis, with experts refuting allegations of government inaction against Islamist violence.
Parts of Nigeria face unprecedented levels of hunger
Northern Nigeria is witnessing soaring levels of hunger, the UN World Food Program (WFP) warned on Tuesday, with a sharp rise in militant attacks and the recent floods in Nigeria.
The UN food assistance agency said that nearly 35 million people could face severe food insecurity in 2026 as its funding runs out in December.
The report, based on the latest Cadre Harmonise — an analysis of food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa region — said the projected levels of hunger are the highest since monitoring began.
Fund shortages force cuts to nutrition programs
WFP Nigeria country director David Stevenson said rural farming communities are the hardest hit.
“The advance of insurgency presents a serious threat to stability in the north, with consequences reaching beyond Nigeria,” Stevenson said. “Communities are under severe pressure from repeated attacks and economic stress.”
Almost a million people currently rely on WFP aid, but funding shortages forced cuts to nutrition programs in July, impacting more than 300,000 children.
The WFP said nearly 6 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe lack minimum food supplies, with around 15,000 in Borno projected to face famine-like conditions.
Malnutrition is highest among children in Borno, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, the report said, adding that it was at “critical” levels in some regions.
WFP operations have been hit by steep reductions in foreign aid, including major cuts from its largest donor, the United States under President Donald Trump.
Some European nations have also reduced their humanitarian budgets, severely impeding WFP’s work.
Without new funding, WFP warned that millions will be left without assistance next year.
The country has also seen its worst economic crisis in decades with medicines, food and other basic commodities priced beyond the reach of many.
Resurgent jihadist attacks worsening situation
Nigeria has seen intense violence this year, with attacks by al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), which struck for the first time last month, and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Recently, a brigadier-general was killed in the northeast in an ISWAP attack.
There has also been a spate of mass abductions at schools.
Gunmen kidnapped more than 300 Catholic school students just days after storming a public school, killing a deputy head teacher and abducting 25 schoolgirls.
Trump recently accused Nigeria of tolerating the violence against Christians by “Islamist terrorists,” threatening military action over the issue.
Experts refuted these claims as “unfounded.”
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