The United Nations, alongside its humanitarian partners and the Nigerian government, is urgently appealing for US$516 million to respond to the most critical needs of 2.5 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states in north-east Nigeria this year. Women and children are particularly affected by the humanitarian crisis, accounting for eight out of ten people in immediate need.
The appeal was published on Thursday as part of Nigeria's 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) and comes amid mounting needs in the BAY states due to sixteen years of conflict, which has been exacerbated by widespread displacement, limited access to basic services, climate shocks, economic hardship and shrinking livelihood opportunities.
Focus on north-east Nigeria
Overall, it is estimated that 7.3 million people will require some form of humanitarian assistance in 2026, with around 5.9 million facing severe to extreme needs in the north-east. Some 4.39 million people in the BAY states are in need of healthcare.
“Humanitarian needs are dramatically worsening at a time when we are facing the steepest decline in international funding for humanitarian operations,” said Mohamed Malick Fall, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria.
Funding for the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan (HNRP) was approximately half that received in 2024, resulting in a dramatic collapse in humanitarian assistance. In 2025, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners appealed for $910 million to support 3.6 million people in the BAY states via the HNRP. However, they only received $282 million.
The reduced number of people targeted for support in the 2026 HNRP does not reflect a reduction in needs, but rather a highly prioritized focus on severe to extreme lifesaving needs in the midst of dwindling funds.
“Every day that funding gaps persist is a day that yet another malnourished child is pushed closer to preventable death,” said Malick Fall.
Around 3 million children under five in Nigeria are projected to suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition in 2026, with 1 million of these children in the BAY states.
Nearly 35 million Nigerians are likely to face acute food insecurity during the lean season of 2026, between June and August, of whom 5.8 million are in the north-east of the country. Of these, an estimated 15,000 people in Borno State are at risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5), which is one step away from famine.
Additional resources, including increased government investment, are urgently sought to provide lifesaving food, nutrition, healthcare, water, sanitation and protection services in 2026. The 2026 Nigeria HNRP also highlights the phasing out of international support amid the global decline in humanitarian funding, with a transition to nationally-led and resourced humanitarian action.
Conflict and insecurity have forced over 2.3 million people to flee their homes in the BAY states. In order to reduce risks to civilians and create conditions for durable solutions in north-east Nigeria, improved security is a prerequisite. Overall, more than 3.5 million Nigerians are currently internally displaced, and over 400,000 people have sought refuge in neighboring Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.
A surge in suicide bombings and the widespread use of improvised explosive devices by non-state armed groups has endangered civilians and hindered humanitarian access in the BAY states, killing around 4,000 civilians in the first eight months of 2025 alone.
Although the HNRP addresses humanitarian needs in the BAY states, where a non-international armed conflict related to an Islamist insurgency is ongoing, extreme needs and protection risks exist throughout the country that are not included in the plan.
Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis
Nigeria’s humanitarian crisis extends far beyond the north-east, with the north-central states of Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau also affected, while the northwestern states of Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kaduna are severely impacted as well. With 34.7 million people projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity in the months ahead, Nigeria is facing one of the worst hunger crises in recent times, with the highest levels of hunger recorded in a decade.
The deteriorating hunger situation is exacerbated by ongoing conflict and violence in regions with high agricultural production, economic shocks, and organized criminal activities that displace people, further eroding resilience and exacerbating vulnerabilities. Renewed violence has devastated fragile rural communities, forcing families to flee and destroying food reserves. This has accelerated alarming levels of hunger and insecurity. Malnutrition rates in several northern states have worsened, reaching critical levels.
More than one million people at risk of being cut off from emergency assistance
Also on Thursday, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) sounded the alarm that more than one million people in north-east Nigeria could lose access to emergency food and nutrition assistance within weeks unless new funding is received urgently.
"Now is not the time to stop food assistance," said David Stevenson, WFP's Nigeria Country Director.
"This will lead to catastrophic humanitarian, security, and economic consequences for the most vulnerable people who have been forced to flee their homes in search of food and shelter."
Stevenson emphasized that humanitarian solutions are still possible and are one of the last stabilizing forces preventing mass displacement and regional spillover.
Since 2015, WFP has provided food assistance in north-east Nigeria, reaching nearly two million women, men, and children in hard-hit areas each year. However, for the first time, WFP's assistance in Nigeria will be limited to only 72,000 people starting in February unless new funding is received urgently.
Despite receiving contributions that sustained its life-saving aid to the most vulnerable in recent months, WFP has now exhausted those limited resources.
“If WFP cannot continue supporting the displaced populations in camps, they will leave the sites in a desperate attempt to survive. They will try to migrate, or they may join insurgent groups to feed themselves and their families,” Stevenson said.
WFP urgently requires $129 million to sustain its operations in north-east Nigeria over the next six months. Without this funding, the UN agency risks shutting down completely in the region, leaving millions of people in life-threatening danger.