Nigeria faces record hunger as insurgent attacks intensify and aid funding collapses
Nigeria is on the brink of its worst hunger crisis on record, with nearly 35 million people projected to face severe food insecurity in 2026, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday. The sharp rise is being fuelled by escalating militant attacks, economic strain, and a looming collapse in humanitarian funding.
Violence in northern Nigeria has surged throughout 2025. Islamist groups — including Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM, which carried out its first attack in Nigeria last month — have intensified operations, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Recent incidents highlight the worsening security landscape:
ISWAP fighters killed a brigadier-general in the northeast.
Armed bandits abducted more than 300 Catholic school students.
Earlier, attackers stormed a public school, killing a deputy head teacher and seizing 25 schoolgirls.
WFP’s Nigeria country director David Stevenson warned that the advancing insurgency threatens stability across the region.
“Communities are under severe pressure from repeated attacks and economic stress,” he said.
Rural farming areas remain the most vulnerable. According to WFP:
Nearly 6 million people in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe lack basic food supplies.
15,000 people in Borno could soon face famine-like conditions.
Child malnutrition is “critical” in Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara.
Close to a million people currently depend on WFP assistance, but funding shortages forced the agency to cut nutrition programmes in July — impacting more than 300,000 children.
Aid Cuts Leave WFP Without Resources by December
The crisis is compounded by major funding reductions. The United States — WFP’s largest donor — has significantly cut foreign aid under President Donald Trump. Other donor nations have also reduced or signalled reductions in support.
As a result, WFP says it will run out of funds for emergency food and nutrition aid by December. Without new financing, millions across Nigeria’s northeast will be left without assistance in 2026.
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