Food aid cuts loom as funding runs out
No fewer than one million people in northeast Nigeria could lose emergency food and nutrition assistance within weeks as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) faces a severe funding shortfall.
The agency said it is being forced to scale down operations at a time when hunger and insecurity are rising across northern Nigeria.
WFP to slash assistance to 72,000 people
In a statement released on Thursday, WFP said it may reduce food assistance from 1.3 million people to just 72,000 if urgent funding is not secured.
The agency warned that displaced families in camps could be forced to leave in search of food, increasing the risk of migration and instability.
“If WFP cannot continue supporting the displaced populations in camps, they will leave the sites in a desperate attempt to survive,” said WFP Nigeria Country Director, David Stevenson.
“They will try to migrate, or they may join insurgent groups to feed themselves and their families,” he added.
35 million Nigerians face food insecurity
WFP said nearly 35 million people are projected to experience acute and severe food insecurity during the upcoming lean season.
About 15,000 people in Borno State are at risk of falling into catastrophic hunger, one step away from famine, the agency said.
Violence worsens hunger crisis
The global food agency said renewed violence in northern Nigeria has devastated rural communities, displaced families and destroyed food reserves, worsening the humanitarian situation.
It described the current hunger levels as the worst recorded in a decade.
$129m funding gap threatens operations
WFP said it urgently needs 129 million dollars to sustain its northeast Nigeria operations over the next six months.
The agency warned that food assistance could stop entirely if the funds are not received, with serious humanitarian, security and economic consequences for vulnerable populations.
“Humanitarian solutions are still possible and remain one of the last stabilising forces preventing mass displacement and regional spillover,” Stevenson said.
