The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday that Nigeria’s food security crisis is worsening faster than anticipated. Armed conflict is pushing some northern states, particularly in the northeast, toward levels of hunger not seen in nearly a decade. A recently completed food security analysis shows that more than 17 million people across nine conflict-affected states in northern Nigeria are experiencing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of hunger.
"What concerns us most is how this crisis is expanding," said Kinday Samba, WFP Regional Director for West and Central Africa, noting that for years, insurgent attacks and violence were largely concentrated in parts of northeast Nigeria.
"Today, they are spreading across a much wider area and forcing people from farmland, driving displacement and restricting humanitarian access, meaning hunger is quick to follow."
In Borno State, in northeast Nigeria, where insurgent attacks have become increasingly frequent, and food assistance has been cut, the analysis shows that more than three million people are acutely food insecure. Of these, over 750,000 are experiencing emergency levels of hunger, and more than 10,000 are facing catastrophic hunger.
While those experiencing catastrophic hunger represent a small share of Borno’s overall food-insecure people, it is a stark warning that persistent insecurity, recurring displacement, and shrinking humanitarian assistance are pushing the crisis into more dangerous territory.
The latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis provides an update on specific hotspot locations in northern Nigeria, particularly camps for displaced people and host communities in areas affected by conflict. This update is in response to the escalation of attacks since the previous analysis was released in November 2025.
Nationwide, the total number of people facing acute food insecurity in Nigeria is projected to reach 36.3 million between June and August 2026. Of those, 2.1 million will experience emergency (IPC4) or catastrophic (IPC5) levels of hunger. Northern regions are the hardest hit, accounting for at least 12.8 million people facing acute hunger.
WFP emphasizes that this deteriorating food security and humanitarian situation is severely exacerbated by deteriorating access constraints and severe funding shortages, which make it extremely difficult to reach vulnerable populations. According to the UN agency, the number of completely inaccessible locations has doubled, and an additional 15 areas are now only partially accessible to frontline staff.
Furthermore, major supply routes are frequently disrupted by attacks and illegal checkpoints, severely hindering WFP’s ability to transport humanitarian supplies efficiently. In many of these isolated locations, airlift services may soon be the only viable transportation option.
Meanwhile, severe funding shortages mean vital humanitarian assistance is shrinking. The number of food-insecure people across three northeastern states has risen to 6.2 million, yet the WFP only has the resources to support 740,000 of them. This leaves 5.5 million people, the majority of whom are children, without lifesaving food and nutrition support. This is a drastic drop from the 1.3 million people the WFP assisted during the peak of the 2025 lean season.
The UN agency expressed deep concern that the suspension of food assistance is pushing people toward desperate coping strategies. Communities have reported cases of individuals joining armed groups in search of food or income. This underlines the risks created when hunger deepens and people run out of options.
The suspension of food assistance in some camps due to funding shortfalls has triggered an alarming surge in exploitation and gender-based violence, particularly affecting women and children.
“When people lose access to food, the risks of displacement, exploitation and instability increase. Yet resources are at their lowest at the time they are needed most,” said Samba.
WFP requires US$89 million over the next six months to continue food and nutrition assistance, and essential logistics support across northern Nigeria before hunger worsens, more people are displaced, and instability spreads across the region.
A historic lean season amid destroyed livelihoods
A recent early warning report identified northeast Nigeria as one of the world’s hunger hotspots of highest concern between June and November of 2026. However, the country's humanitarian crisis extends well beyond the northeast. The emergency has also gripped the north-central states of Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau, as well as the northwest states of Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kaduna. Over 3.6 million people have been displaced within the northern states due to the protracted conflict in the region.
Meanwhile, the number of children at risk of acute malnutrition continues to climb. An estimated 6.4 million children in northwest and northeast Nigeria are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. In the northeast, malnutrition rates are expected to peak between May and September. Approximately one million children in the BAY states (Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe) are anticipated to experience life-threatening severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in 2026.
Last month, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) warned that the risk of excess mortality from hunger, malnutrition, and disease will increase sharply between June and August. The HCT also emphasized the need for urgent "front-loaded funding" to scale up lifesaving assistance before the crisis peaks.
Hunger is worsening due to 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. These factors have devastated fragile rural communities, forcing families to flee and destroying food reserves.
In many conflict-affected areas, farmers cannot safely access their farmland due to land disputes, abductions, killings, extortion, and violence perpetrated by non-state armed groups. These conditions force farmers to abandon their land, leaving households without crops, income, or reserves as the lean season sets in.
Nigeria’s worsening hunger crisis is unfolding amid growing concerns over the protection of civilians. Airstrikes conducted as part of the government's counterterrorism and anti-banditry operations continue to endanger the civilian population, leaving local villagers caught in the crossfire of attacks by armed groups, bandits, and the military.