By Faridat Salifu
Nigeria has been named by the United States Department of State among 13 countries set to receive a share of a $93 million emergency food assistance package aimed at tackling severe child malnutrition.
The announcement was made in early August 2025 during a U.S. State Department press briefing marking the first 200 days of the Trump administration.
Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson for the department, unveiled the package and confirmed Nigeria’s inclusion alongside other high-burden countries.
The programme will deliver ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to nearly one million children suffering from acute malnutrition across Africa and Haiti.
According to the U.S. State Department, the package includes 1,209 metric tons of existing RUTF and funding to produce an additional 11,285 metric tons.
Other African beneficiaries include Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Madagascar, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Kenya, and Chad, alongside Haiti.
The aid will also cover essential food commodities, targeted nutrition interventions, and emergency logistics to ensure rapid delivery to high-need areas.
U.S. officials say the intervention will draw down all prepositioned RUTF stock while supporting new production to meet ongoing and future demand.
The announcement follows the Trump administration’s closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of cost-cutting reforms, a move that has drawn criticism from former leaders and humanitarian experts.
USAID, founded in 1961 under President John Kennedy, had long overseen U.S. humanitarian and development aid in more than 100 countries, including health, agriculture, and education programmes.
The aid package comes as parts of Africa face a worsening hunger crisis driven by armed conflict, climate shocks, and economic pressures.
Nigeria, which has seen rising rates of child malnutrition in conflict-affected northern states and flood-prone regions, is expected to channel the assistance into targeted nutrition programmes.
Humanitarian experts warn that without urgent nutrition support, child mortality rates in high-burden countries could rise sharply.
The United Nations has projected that without immediate action, acute malnutrition could affect more than 45 million children worldwide this year, with Africa bearing the highest burden.