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WFP: Hunger in Northern Nigeria at Decade High as Violence Expands

The agency warns a $89 million six-month funding gap plus a doubling of partially inaccessible areas will leave millions without aid, driving desperate coping.

Zainab Abubakar eats cooked food with her children at Gubio IDP camp in Maiduguri, Nigeria October 28, 2024. REUTERS/Abraham Achirga/File Photo
More than 17 million people across northern Nigeria 'experiencing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of hunger', says WFP

Overview

  • The World Food Programme says more than 17 million people across nine conflict-hit northern states now face crisis, emergency or catastrophic levels of hunger, about two million more than earlier projections.
  • Citing Thursday's Cadre Harmonisé, WFP reported that Borno state has over three million people who are acutely food insecure, including more than 750,000 in severe hunger and roughly 10,000 in catastrophic conditions.
  • WFP says the number of locations partially inaccessible to its frontline staff has doubled with 15 additional areas affected, slowing cargo movements on major routes and forcing greater use of costly airlifts.
  • Extreme donor shortfalls mean WFP will assist far fewer people than the 1.3 million reached during the 2025 lean season, and the agency says it needs $89 million for the next six months to sustain food, nutrition and logistics support.
  • WFP warns that suspension or reduction of food aid is pushing people into desperate coping, including reports of individuals joining armed groups for food or income, which risks worsening displacement and instability.