The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced plans to significantly cut back its hunger relief operations in Nigeria as a result of severe funding constraints, raising fresh concerns about worsening food insecurity across West and Central Africa.
According to the agency, only about 72,000 people in Nigeria will receive food assistance in February 2026, a dramatic decline from the 1.3 million individuals supported during the 2025 lean season.
The sharp reduction highlighted the growing strain on humanitarian agencies as available resources fall far short of rising needs.
The funding crisis is unfolding against a bleak regional outlook.
WFP estimated that around 55 million people across West and Central Africa are likely to face crisis-level hunger or worse between June and August 2026, the peak of the next lean season.
In addition, more than 13 million children are projected to suffer from malnutrition in 2026, based on the latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis—the regional framework used to assess food security, similar to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).
WFP warned that without urgent financial support and decisive action, millions of the most vulnerable people in the region could be pushed into even more severe hardship.
The agency projected that over three million people will face emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4) in 2026, more than double the figure recorded in 2020.
Nigeria, alongside Chad, Cameroon and Niger, accounts for about 77 per cent of the region’s food-insecure population. Particularly alarming is the situation in Nigeria’s Borno State, where an estimated 15,000 people are at risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) for the first time in nearly ten years.
Speaking on the situation, Sarah Longford, WFP’s Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa, described humanitarian assistance as a stabilising force in fragile environments.
She noted that funding cuts experienced in 2025 had already intensified hunger and malnutrition across the region, warning that the gap between needs and available resources is fuelling desperation, especially among young people.
“It is essential to support communities in crisis,” Longford said, cautioning that unchecked hunger could worsen displacement, insecurity and conflict across the region.
WFP explained that hunger in West and Central Africa is being driven by a combination of escalating conflict, mass displacement and economic pressures.
The agency however, stressed that recent reductions in humanitarian aid are now pushing many communities beyond their ability to cope.
Examples from the region underline the impact of funding cuts. In Mali, areas that received reduced food rations recorded a 64 per cent increase in acute hunger (IPC Phase 3 and above) since 2023, while communities that continued to receive full rations saw a 34 per cent decline.
Despite this, ongoing insecurity in Mali has disrupted food supply routes to major cities, leaving an estimated 1.5 million vulnerable people at risk of crisis-level hunger.
In Nigeria, funding gaps last year forced WFP to scale back nutrition programmes, affecting more than 300,000 children. Since then, malnutrition levels in several northern states have deteriorated from “serious” to “critical,” according to the agency.
The current funding outlook threatens to further aggravate the situation.
Cameroon is also facing a looming crisis, with WFP warning that without immediate funding, more than 500,000 vulnerable people could lose access to life-saving assistance in the coming weeks.
Despite the challenges, WFP emphasised that when adequately funded, its programmes deliver tangible and long-term benefits.
In the Sahel, land restoration initiatives have generated up to 30 dollars in benefits for every dollar invested.
Since 2018, WFP and local communities have rehabilitated about 300,000 hectares of farmland across five countries, supporting over four million people in more than 3,400 villages.
Beyond emergency food aid, WFP programmes in the region have contributed to infrastructure development, school feeding, nutrition services, skills training and seasonal support to help families cope with extreme weather, insecurity and economic shocks.
These efforts, the agency said, help stabilise local economies and reduce long-term dependence on aid.
Looking ahead, Longford called for a major shift in approach in 2026, urging national governments and their partners to invest more in preparedness, early action and resilience-building initiatives that empower communities to withstand future shocks.
WFP disclosed that it urgently needs more than 453 million dollars over the next six months to sustain life-saving humanitarian operations across West and Central Africa, warning that failure to mobilise the funds could result in an even deeper hunger crisis across the region.
