UN to suspend aid for 1.3 million in Nigeria’s northeast

Due to funding shortfalls, the UN will halt food aid for 1.3 million people in Nigeria’s northeast, affecting clinics and children, and risking regional stability.

The United Nations food agency announced on Wednesday that it will be forced to suspend food and nutrition assistance for 1.3 million people in Nigeria’s violence-plagued northeast by the end of July due to depleted supplies. The suspension comes as the agency’s food and nutrition stocks have been completely exhausted, a consequence of funding shortfalls.

This critical gap in aid has been linked to global cuts in humanitarian assistance, stemming in part from former U.S. President Donald Trump's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). These reductions have directly impacted the budgets of aid organizations, including the World Food Programme (WFP).

According to the WFP, the final supplies were dispatched from warehouses in early July, and once the ongoing distribution round is completed, the agency’s life-saving assistance will be halted. The WFP emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting that the consequences for vulnerable populations could be dire without renewed funding support.

Without fresh funding, many of the affected individuals — who previously relied heavily on aid — may be forced to flee their homes in search of food and shelter. The agency noted that last year it received 45% of its funding for northeast Nigeria from USAID. “Others will adopt negative coping mechanisms – including potentially joining terror groups – to survive,” said David Stevenson, WFP country director for Nigeria.

The Boko Haram terrorist group has continued to unleash violence in the region, further compounding the humanitarian crisis. Stevenson stated that the agency had intended to extend aid to an additional 720,000 people in the second half of the year, but warned that the entire operation in the northeast faces imminent collapse without immediate funding.

He added that this crisis is no longer just a humanitarian emergency but a growing threat to regional stability, as families pushed beyond their limits are left with no viable alternatives.

The WFP also disclosed that more than 150 nutrition clinics it supports in Borno and Yobe states are being shut down, cutting off potentially life-saving treatment for over 300,000 children under the age of two.

According to aid groups, violence in northeastern Nigeria has resulted in hundreds of deaths and the displacement of at least 2 million people. The WFP said it urgently needs $131 million to sustain its operations in the region through the rest of the year.