The federal government has warned that 575,000 vulnerable Nigerians, representing about 115,000 households, risk losing access to critical food support following a drastic cutback in the World Food Programme’s (WFP) operations due to severe funding shortages.

Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, raised the alarm at a press conference on Thursday, warning that the partial suspension of WFP’s humanitarian activities in Northeastern and Northwestern Nigeria could worsen food insecurity, malnutrition, and health risks.

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He noted that around 300,000 children could be at risk of wasting due to the closure of 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states, alongside potential increases in displacement and migration.

Sununu explained that WFP, which currently delivers life-saving assistance to 1.3 million vulnerable people, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, refugees, children, and pregnant or lactating women, has been forced to reduce its reach to 900,000 people in August and 725,000 in September 2025.

This leaves over half a million people without the food aid they depend on.

To address the humanitarian gap, the minister outlined plans for emergency federal funding to supplement ongoing government interventions.

He also urged support from philanthropists, the organised private sector, and local and international partners.

Sustainable measures, he said, would focus on boosting local agriculture, promoting nutrition-sensitive farming, enhancing resilience to climate change, and strengthening partnerships among governments, aid agencies, and communities to tackle the root causes of food insecurity.

Sununu appealed to the public and development partners to work together to avert a humanitarian crisis and support long-term solutions to hunger and malnutrition in the country.

LUKMAN ABDULMALIK
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