By Obiabin Onukwugha
Over 300,000 children under the age of two in Borno and Yobe states face increasing threat of life-threatening malnutrition as more than 150 nutrition clinics supported by United United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), risk closure.
This comes as the WFP has said it will stop food distribution to Nigeria if issues surrounding funding are not resolved due to unresolved funding. The global agency warned that its life-saving assistance in Northeast would stop once food distributions end, and unless funding is received.
The WFP also revealed that nearly 31 million in Nigeria are facing acute hunger, the highest number on record. It noted that without intervention, millions risk being pushed to extreme choices, including displacement, exploitation, or recruitment by extremist groups.
“WFP’s operations in Northeast will collapse without immediate funding.
“This is no longer just a humanitarian crisis, it’s a threat to regional stability as families pushed beyond limits are left with nowhere to turn,” David Stevenson, WFP’s Country Director in Nigeria said.
More than 150 nutrition clinics supported by WFP in Borno and Yobe states face imminent closure, which would cut off treatment for over 300,000 children under the age of two, increasing the threat of life-threatening malnutrition.
The crisis, the agency further stated, is compounded by ongoing violence and instability in the conflict-affected North.
According to the WFP, escalating attacks by extremist groups have displaced 2.3 million people across the Lake Chad Basin, overwhelming limited local resources and pushing entire communities to the brink.
“When emergency food aid disappears, people will migrate in search of food and safety, or turn to dangerous survival strategies, including joining insurgent groups.
“Food assistance not only prevents hunger, it also stabilizes communities and supports long-term recovery,” Stevenson stated.
The agency stated that it has so far reached 1.3 million people with food and nutrition aid in northern Nigeria in the first half of 2025, stating that it plans to extend support to another 720,000 people in the latter half of the year are now under threat due to funding constraints.
To maintain and scale up its humanitarian response through the end of the year, WFP urgently needs US$130 million. Without it, the organization faces an imminent pipeline break that could paralyze its operations and deepen Nigeria’s hunger crisis.
