Abuja: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will halt all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria at the end of July. This suspension arises from significant funding shortfalls coinciding with rising violence and unprecedented hunger levels.

According to African Press Organization, WFP’s food and nutrition stocks are entirely depleted. The last supplies left the warehouses in early July, marking the end of life-saving assistance following the current distribution cycle. Without urgent financial support, millions of vulnerable individuals will face difficult choices: endure worsening hunger, migrate, or potentially fall prey to extremist groups in the area.

The cessation of emergency aid is expected to drive many to migrate in search of basic necessities, while others might resort to adverse coping strategies—including the possibility of joining insurgent groups—to survive, noted Stevenson. Food assistance plays a crucial role in averting such outcomes by providing sustenance for families, aiding economic recovery, and supporting long-term rehabilitation.

In the first six months of 2025, WFP successfully mitigated hunger across northern Nigeria, delivering life-saving food and nutrition assistance to 1.3 million people. Plans were in place to support an additional 720,000 individuals in the latter half of the year. However, funding deficits threaten these critical programs.

WFP possesses the expertise to implement and expand its humanitarian response, but the severe funding gap is crippling its operations. The organization urgently needs US$130 million to avoid an immediate disruption of its supply chain and to sustain food and nutrition initiatives through the end of 2025.