Thousands of people in Nigeria’s strife-torn Northeast are at risk of catastrophic food shortages for the first time in nearly a decade.
The United Nations ,UN, World Food Programme ,WFP, issued this warning on Friday.
According to the WFP, aid reductions are worsening malnutrition across the region, with Borno state particularly affected, where around 15,000 people are in immediate danger.
The WFP said that across West and Central Africa, 55 million people are experiencing severe food shortages, with more than three-quarters of those affected living in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
According to the agency, funding shortfalls forced it to scale back nutrition programs in Nigeria, affecting over 300,000 children, while nearly 35 million people risk going hungry as the agency’s resources ran out in December.
“As needs outpace funding, so too does the risk of young people falling into desperation. It’s critical that we support communities in crisis, so that rampant hunger doesn’t drive further unrest, displacement and conflict across the region”, said Sarah Longford, WFP’s deputy regional director for West and Central Africa.
In other parts of West and Central Africa, insecurity in Mali has disrupted food supply routes, leaving 1.5 million people facing crisis-level hunger, and over 500,000 people in Cameroon risk being cut off from aid in the coming weeks.
The U.N. agency said it requires more than $453 million over the next six months to continue providing humanitarian assistance across the region.
Aid reductions from major donors are a key driver of the worsening food crisis. The Trump administration’s “America First” policy in 2025 and budget cuts from the UK and other countries aimed at boosting defense spending have decreased funding for humanitarian programs.
Conflict, displacement, and economic pressures have long contributed to food insecurity in the region. Now, the gap in international aid is pushing already vulnerable communities beyond their coping capacity, particularly children.
Nigeria’s northeast has faced years of militant unrest, which has disrupted agriculture and food distribution, creating chronic food insecurity. Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that cuts to aid funding could lead to the most severe hunger crisis in the region in over a decade.
In its Economic Outlook 2026 report, PwC projected that Nigeria will face a worsening food security crisis in 2026, with up to 34.7 million people at risk of acute food insecurity.
Farmers in the North-Central and North-West regions warned of abandoning farming due to rising production costs, insecurity, and massive post-harvest losses.
Similarly, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ,FAO, has projected that about 34.7 million Nigerians could face severe food insecurity during the June–August 2026 lean season, based on its October 2025 Cadre Harmonisé analysis.
FG Foresees Economy Growing By 4.68% In 2026
Federal government expects the Nigerian economy to grow by 4.68% in 2026, supported by easing inflation, improved foreign exchange stability and continued fiscal reforms, the federal government said recently..
The projection was outlined by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, during the launch of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group ,NESG, 2026 Macroeconomic Outlook Report in Lagos.
Mr Edun said Nigeria had moved beyond the crisis-management phase of recent years and was now entering a period of economic consolidation, where stability must translate into growth, jobs and improved living standards.
According to the minister, two years of difficult reforms have helped stabilise key macroeconomic indicators, creating a platform for sustained expansion.
Inflation, which peaked above 33% in 2024, declined to 15.15% by December 2025. Foreign exchange volatility has eased, with the Naira trading below N1,500 to the Dollar, while external reserves rose to $45.5 billion.
GDP growth averaged 3.78% by the third quarter of 2025, with 27 sectors recording expansion, Mr Edun said.
He warned, however, that Nigeria could not afford to reverse course.
Mr Edun said Nigeria cannot afford to pause or retreat from its reform agenda adding that the success of the consolidation phase would determine whether recent gains deliver productive jobs and shared prosperity.
The finance minister also addressed public concerns about Nigeria’s rising debt stock, which stood at about N152 trillion, insisting that the increase was largely the result of transparency and exchange rate adjustments rather than fresh borrowing.
He explained that about N30 trillion of the figure reflected previously unrecognised Ways and Means advances, now formally recorded, while nearly N49 trillion resulted from the revaluation of foreign debt following exchange rate reforms.
Despite the higher nominal figure, Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 36.1% which the minister said remained among the lowest in Africa and well below the global average.
Reviewing fiscal outcomes in 2025, Mr Edun said the government maintained discipline despite revenue pressures, particularly from the oil and gas sector.
The fiscal deficit was kept at about 3.4% of GDP, while non-oil revenue performance improved and allocations to states increased, strengthening fiscal federalism.
He also said the government achieved 84% capital budget execution for 2024 projects during the transition period.
The minister noted that the 2026 Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity, currently under deliberation by the National Assembly, would prioritise growth-enhancing investments.
The budget proposes N58.18 trillion in total spending, including N26 trillion for capital expenditure, representing about 44% of the total budget, one of the largest capital spending plans in Nigeria’s history.
Inflation is projected to average 16.5 in 2026, while the exchange rate is expected to stabilise around N1,400/$1.
