Nigeria Faces Worsening Hunger Crisis as UN Sounds Alarm Over Aid Cuts and Malnutrition Surge

By Akahi News Desk | 31 July 2025

Nigeria is teetering on the brink of a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe as the United Nations issues a grave warning about an escalating hunger crisis, with nearly 31 million people now facing acute food insecurity — a figure that rivals the population of the U.S. state of Texas.

The crisis, described by humanitarian experts as “unprecedented in scale and severity”, is being driven by a devastating combination of climate shocks, insecurity, displacement, and now, drastic cuts in humanitarian funding. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1.3 million people in northeastern Nigeria alone are at imminent risk of losing access to essential food and nutrition aid if urgent interventions are not made.

The situation is particularly dire for children. More than 300,000 Nigerian children are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition, with thousands already at risk of death from starvation, infections, or preventable diseases due to weakened immunity.

“We are witnessing a silent emergency unfold,” said Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. “Without immediate and substantial international support, millions of lives—particularly among the most vulnerable—could be lost.”

In Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa States—epicentres of conflict and displacement—the crisis has deepened as humanitarian clinics shutter operations due to depleted resources. Mothers queue for hours hoping to receive high-energy therapeutic food for their children, only to be turned away empty-handed as supplies dwindle.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has already scaled back its operations, citing a $350 million funding gap. Critical feeding centres have closed in recent weeks, and more are at risk. Health workers on the ground warn that the rainy season, typically a lean period for rural families, is compounding the crisis as flooding destroys crops and isolates entire communities from aid.

“The children cry not from pain, but from hunger,” lamented Hauwa Mohammed, a nurse at a nutrition centre in Gwoza, Borno State. “We are doing everything we can, but it’s like watching them starve with our hands tied.”

Civil society organisations are now urging the Nigerian government to declare a national emergency on food security. While efforts have been made to improve agricultural resilience and expand local food production, they remain insufficient against the backdrop of inflation, armed conflict, and global aid shortfalls.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a recent statement, acknowledged the worsening crisis and appealed to international partners to “not abandon Nigeria at this critical hour.” However, analysts argue that domestic policy shifts, strategic investment in local food systems, and an overhaul of the national social protection framework are urgently needed to prevent a deeper collapse.

With global attention divided and donor fatigue mounting, the UN’s plea is clear: Nigeria cannot wait.

The world must act—immediately and decisively—if millions of Nigerians are to be saved from the devastating grip of hunger.

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