WFP to Suspend Food Aid to 1.3 Million Nigerians, Seeks Urgent $130 Million

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it may stop all emergency food and nutrition aid to 1.3 million people in North-East Nigeria by the end of July.

WPF agency urgently needs $130 million to sustain its operations over the next six months.

WFP’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Margot van der Velden, shared this update during a press briefing on Wednesday.

She described the growing hunger crisis in Nigeria as alarming and worsening.

“Right now in Nigeria, 31 million people face acute food insecurity.

That’s as if the entire population of Texas went hungry,” Van der Velden said.

She stated that funding cuts have crippled WFP’s ability to maintain life-saving assistance.

“We’ve already exhausted our food and nutrition supplies,” she added.

Although WFP managed to support millions across northern Nigeria during the first half of 2025, the ongoing financial gap now threatens to derail that progress.

Van der Velden warned that if no funding arrives, WFP will stop its operations in early August.

She explained that WFP teams would have to inform communities that support will no longer continue not because the need has vanished, but because no resources remain.

Over 1.3 million people, including 300,000 infants, stand to lose access to vital food and nutritional support.

The last of WFP’s food supplies left warehouses in early July.

With stocks depleted, vulnerable families face impossible choices.

They may endure deepening hunger, flee in search of food, or even risk recruitment by extremist groups.

“Without fresh funding, WFP will shut down over 150 nutrition clinics. That would cut off treatment for more than 300,000 children,” she warned.

Van der Velden praised both the Nigerian federal government and the Borno State government for their role in tackling the crisis.

She acknowledged their support in addressing immediate needs and their plans for long-term solutions, including the reintegration of former insurgents.

She emphasized the urgency of securing funds to protect lives, restore hope, and maintain stability in an already fragile region.

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