Nigeria Faces Escalating Hunger Crisis as UNICEF, WFP Sound Alarm as 600,000 Nigerian Children Battle Acute Malnutrition

 

Growing Food Crisis in Nigeria Threatens Millions of Children Amid Plummeting Aid Support

Warnings are mounting over a deepening food and nutrition emergency in Nigeria, where over half a million children are already grappling with acute malnutrition. Alarm bells rang louder this week after stark revelations from senior United Nations officials painted a dire picture of escalating needs and declining humanitarian funding in the region.

Speaking during a press briefing on Monday organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), officials from UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) outlined the unfolding crisis in Nigeria’s northeastern states—Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe—where hunger is fast becoming a life-threatening epidemic for the youngest and most vulnerable.

Nemat Hajeebhoy, UNICEF’s Chief of Nutrition, described Nigeria as the country with the highest number of malnourished children in Africa and second only to one other globally. According to her, around 600,000 Nigerian children are currently suffering from acute malnutrition, a critical condition that sharply raises their risk of death. “Children with severe acute malnutrition are nine to eleven times more likely to die,” she emphasized during the briefing.

Humanitarian partners are increasingly alarmed as worsening food insecurity, driven by conflict, economic instability, and climate shocks, converges with diminishing resources. Serigne Loum, Head of Programme for the World Food Programme in Nigeria, confirmed that the country now tops the list for the most food-insecure population on the African continent. He warned that current conditions may only deteriorate further without swift and sustained intervention.

Efforts to respond to the spiraling humanitarian needs are being choked by funding constraints. Trond Jensen, Head of OCHA Nigeria, laid bare the reality: at least $300 million is urgently required to support a multisectoral response during the 2025 lean season—a critical period typically marked by food shortages and surging needs.

Of that total, $160 million is earmarked for lifesaving interventions in food security, nutrition, health, water and sanitation, logistics, and protection. Yet even this “bare minimum,” as Jensen described it, appears increasingly out of reach due to a global aid funding slump. “It’s a paradox and a dilemma,” he said. “While the number of children requiring treatment for severe acute malnutrition has doubled, our ability to reach them has, in some cases, halved.”

One of the most significant blows to the humanitarian effort has come from the freezing of United States aid, which traditionally accounts for a sizable portion of global humanitarian funding. Other international donors have also scaled back, forcing OCHA to slash its operational targets from four million to just two million people.

That cutback has sparked concern among aid workers and observers who fear that thousands of children could slip through the cracks during the lean season—typically the most dangerous time of year for food-insecure households. The warning follows OCHA’s earlier announcement in April that it would start scaling back operations in Nigeria due to a staggering $58 million budget shortfall.

The situation is especially precarious in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states, areas already devastated by over a decade of insurgency that has displaced millions and dismantled vital infrastructure, including healthcare and agricultural systems. Malnutrition rates in these regions have consistently hovered at emergency levels, with children under five most at risk.

Despite these challenges, humanitarian agencies continue to press for international solidarity and renewed commitments. Jensen reiterated the urgency, stressing that while the crisis might not dominate headlines globally, the suffering on the ground is very real. “The children and families affected by this crisis do not have the luxury of waiting,” he said. “We need governments and international partners to step up, and we need them to do so now.”

The figures are stark, but they only tell part of the story. Behind every statistic is a child at risk of not only missing a meal but losing their life. Aid workers on the frontlines have reported witnessing a dramatic increase in the number of children presenting with signs of wasting, stunting, and other forms of undernutrition.

While the scale of the crisis may be daunting, officials stress that the tools to address it already exist. Therapeutic feeding programs, cash transfers, and water sanitation initiatives have been shown to work when implemented at scale. What remains lacking is the political will and financial commitment to match the urgency of the moment.

UNICEF, WFP, and OCHA continue to appeal for donor countries, private sector actors, and international organizations to recognize the gravity of the situation unfolding in Nigeria. Without immediate intervention, the coming months may bring irreversible consequences for hundreds of thousands of children—and a crisis that could scar a generation.