The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that 35 million Nigerians may face severe hunger in 2026 as escalating insecurity and funding shortages deepen an already critical food crisis.

Growing instability across northern Nigeria, including a surge in attacks, is driving hunger to levels never seen before, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

The warning follows the release of the latest Cadre Harmonisé, a regional food security analysis that classifies the severity of hunger, which found that nearly 35 million people are projected to face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season, the highest number recorded in Nigeria.

WFP, in a statement on Tuesday, said attacks by insurgent groups in Nigeria have intensified throughout 2025. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, reportedly carried out its first attack in Nigeria last month.

Meanwhile, the insurgent group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) is said to be pursuing its expansion across the Sahel. Other recent incidents include the killing of a brigadier soldier in the northeast and attacks on public schools in the north, where several teachers and hundreds of schoolgirls remain missing.

“Communities are under severe pressure from repeated attacks and economic stress,” said David Stevenson, WFP Country Director and Representative in Nigeria.

He said: “If we can’t keep families fed and food insecurity at bay, growing desperation could fuel increased instability with insurgent groups exploiting hunger to expand their influence, creating a security threat that extends across West Africa and beyond.”

The statement lamented that Northern Nigeria is experiencing the most severe hunger crisis in a decade with rural farming communities the hardest hit. Nearly six million people in the north are projected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse during the 2026 lean season – June to August – in the conflict zones of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

It added this includes some 15,000 people in Borno State who are expected to confront catastrophic hunger (Phase 5, famine-like conditions). Children are at greatest risk across Borno, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara, where malnutrition rates are highest.

It said the dire situation has been compounded by funding shortfalls that diminish WFP’s ability to provide life-saving assistance. In the northeast – where nearly one million people depend on WFP’s food and nutrition assistance – WFP was forced to scale down nutrition programmes in July, affecting more than 300,000 children. In areas where clinics closed, malnutrition levels deteriorated from “serious” to “critical” in the third quarter of the year.

It however assured that despite soaring needs, WFP will run out of resources for emergency food and nutrition assistance in December. Without urgent funding, millions will be left without vital support in 2026, risking more instability and deepening a crisis that the world cannot afford to ignore. (AriseNews TV)

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