Nigeria’s northeast is confronting its most severe hunger crisis in a decade, with thousands on the brink of famine as crucial international aid lifelines are being severed. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) issued a dire warning Friday that the double blow of relentless militant violence and sharp funding cuts from major Western donors has created a “catastrophic” perfect storm, pushing a region long familiar with suffering into uncharted territory of deprivation.
The epicenter is Borno state, where years of conflict with groups like Boko Haram have already devastated farming and displaced millions. Now, an estimated 15,000 people there are at immediate risk of famine-like conditions. The WFP’s statement did not single out specific nations, but the alarm follows drastic aid reductions by the Trump administration under its “America First” policy, coupled with cuts from Britain and other traditional donors diverting funds to defense.
For years, international humanitarian assistance has been the critical buffer preventing widespread starvation in the face of conflict and displacement. That buffer has now been slashed. “The reduced funding we saw in 2025 has deepened hunger and malnutrition across the region,” said Sarah Longford, WFP’s deputy regional director for West and Central Africa.
The consequences are immediate and devastating. Funding shortfalls have already forced the WFP to scale back vital nutrition programs in Nigeria, directly affecting over 300,000 vulnerable children. This is not a looming threat, but a present-day collapse of a safety net, leaving communities with “nothing left to cope with,” according to the agency.
The crisis is not just contained to Nigeria; it is the flashpoint of a regional emergency engulfing West and Central Africa, where 55 million people face severe hunger. More than three-quarters of those affected are in Nigeria and its neighbors—Chad, Cameroon, and Niger—creating a contiguous zone of desperation.
Insecurity in Mali is disrupting supply routes for 1.5 million people, while over half a million in Cameroon risk being completely cut off from aid in the coming weeks. The slashing of funds has turned local crises into a transnational catastrophe, with Nigeria’s northeast serving as the starkest example of what happens when the world’s attention—and wallets—turn away.
Why It Matters
To avert a full-scale humanitarian disaster, the WFP says it needs over $453 million in the next six months to restore and sustain operations. This appeal lands as donor fatigue and shifting geopolitical priorities leave traditional benefactors looking elsewhere.
