Nigeria's Hunger Crisis Deepens as 36 Million Face Food Insecurity, UN Warns

 

Nigeria's food security crisis continues to worsen, with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reporting that more than 36 million Nigerians are now facing food insecurity. The agency warns that conflict, displacement, rising food prices, climate challenges, and funding shortages are leaving millions of families at risk, particularly across northern Nigeria.

The numbers behind the headline

The WFP's recently completed Cadre Harmonisé analysis — the standard tool used across West Africa to assess food security — found the 17 million figure in the north represents an increase of almost 2 million people since the last projection. In Borno State, the hardest-hit area, more than 3 million people are now acutely food insecure, including over 750,000 in severe hunger and more than 10,000 facing catastrophic hunger, the UN's highest classification, comparable to conditions seen in parts of Gaza and Sudan.

Why the crisis is spreading, not just deepening

According to Kinday Samba, WFP's Regional Director for West and Central Africa, what's most alarming isn't just the scale but the geography: "For years, insurgent attacks and violence were largely concentrated in parts of northeast Nigeria. Today, they are spreading across a much wider area and forcing people from farmland, driving displacement and restricting humanitarian access." The number of locations WFP considers partially inaccessible to its own staff has doubled, and cargo routes are increasingly disrupted by attacks and illegal checkpoints — meaning even when funding exists, physically delivering aid is becoming harder.

The human cost of funding shortfalls

Perhaps the most alarming detail in WFP's latest warning: the agency says food insecurity in the three hardest-hit northeastern states has grown to 6.2 million people, but WFP can currently support only about 740,000 of them — leaving 5.5 million people, mostly children, without lifesaving food and nutrition assistance. This marks a steep drop from the 1.3 million people WFP was able to reach at the height of the 2025 lean season. WFP has explicitly warned that this isn't just a humanitarian problem: officials say they're seeing communities report cases of individuals joining armed groups in search of food or income, and a "deeply alarming" rise in exploitation and gender-based harm in camps where food assistance has been suspended — meaning the funding gap is now actively feeding the same instability driving the crisis in the first place.

What WFP says it needs

The agency says it requires at least USD $89 million over the next six months simply to continue food, nutrition, and logistics support across northern Nigeria — a relatively modest sum against the scale of need, but one that has repeatedly gone unmet even as warnings have escalated over the past year. WFP has previously had to suspend over 150 nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states due to funding shortfalls, placing 300,000 children at risk of wasting (dangerously low weight for height).

The Bigger Picture

The growing food crisis highlights the urgent need for coordinated action from governments, humanitarian organisations, and international partners. Beyond providing emergency food assistance, long-term solutions such as improving security, supporting farmers, rebuilding local food systems, and expanding economic opportunities will be essential to reducing hunger across Nigeria.

Without sustained intervention, millions of vulnerable people could continue to face worsening living conditions in the months ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Nigerians are currently food insecure?

According to the World Food Programme, more than 36 million Nigerians are experiencing food insecurity.

Which parts of Nigeria are most affected?

The most severe conditions are reported across conflict-affected northern states, particularly Borno State.

What is causing Nigeria's food crisis?

The crisis is driven by insecurity, displacement, climate-related challenges, inflation, rising food prices, and limited humanitarian funding