ISTANBUL

The World Food Program (WFP) has warned that its emergency food and nutrition assistance for 1.3 million people in northeastern Nigeria will come to a halt by the end of July due to severe funding shortages.

“Without immediate funding, millions of vulnerable people will face impossible choices,” including severe hunger, migration, or risking exploitation by extremist groups, the UN agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

The WFP said its food and nutrition stocks were depleted in early July, and life-saving assistance will end after the current distribution round.

“Nearly 31 million people in Nigeria are now facing acute hunger, a record number,” David Stevenson, WFP country director for Nigeria, highlighted.

“At the same time, WFP’s operations in northeast Nigeria will collapse without immediate, sustained funding,” he added.

The WFP said it reached 1.3 million people with life-saving assistance in northern Nigeria in the first half of 2025, but a funding shortfall threatens support for an additional 720,000, with the organization urgently needing $130 million to sustain operations through the end of the year.

It warned that children under 2 will be most affected by the aid cutoff, while escalating violence in northern Nigeria has displaced 2.3 million people, straining already limited resources.

“When emergency assistance ends, many will migrate in search of food and shelter. Others will adopt negative coping mechanisms – including potentially joining insurgent groups – to survive,” Stevenson warned.