The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned it will suspend food and nutrition assistance to over two million people in Nigeria and the Central Sahel region next month unless immediate funding is secured.
The WFP stated it requires $620 million to sustain aid for refugees in Chad and Mali, as well as food-insecure populations in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.
The global reduction in foreign aid is jeopardizing its operations, said WFP Regional Director Margot van der Velden.
The crisis coincides with an early arrival of the lean season—the period between harvests when hunger levels peak.
Millions are expected to face emergency levels of hunger, necessitating urgent global support to prevent further deterioration, the WFP warned.
West Africa’s hunger crisis is driven by conflict, displacement, economic instability, and climate shocks, including last year’s devastating floods.
Between June and August 2025, an estimated 52.7 million people are projected to experience acute hunger. This includes around 700,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad, Mali, and Mauritania.
The proportion of people facing extreme hunger in West and Central Africa is expected to exceed 20% by mid-2025.
WFP urges urgent funding to prevent food aid cuts in West Africa
The WFP, which receives half of its funding from the United States, acknowledged foreign aid reductions but did not explicitly link the shortfall to U.S. policy shifts.
Despite chronic underfunding in the region, the WFP urged the international community to act swiftly, warning that inaction could lead to an irreversible humanitarian catastrophe.
