WFP Nigeria funding crisis threatens aid for 300,000 children

WFP Nigeria funding crisis forces closure of 150+ clinics, ending aid to 300,000 children. \$130m urgently needed to continue food and nutrition operations

The WFP Nigeria funding crisis has reached a critical stage, with the United Nations World Food Programme announcing the closure of over 150 nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states due to a severe lack of funding.

Also read: Tony Elumelu advocates for Africa’s growth at UN General Assembly

The impact will be devastating: more than 300,000 children under two will be cut off from life-saving treatment, putting them at high risk of malnutrition and wasting.

In a statement on its website, WFP warned that all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria would end by the close of July 2025.

Supplies have already run out, with the last stock distributed earlier in July.

“Without immediate funding, millions face a bleak future: hunger, displacement, or recruitment by extremist groups,” said David Stevenson, WFP’s Country Director for Nigeria.

The situation is dire. Nearly 31 million Nigerians are now facing acute hunger, while 2.3 million people across the Lake Chad Basin have been displaced by conflict, further straining resources.

WFP had hoped to support an additional 720,000 people in the second half of 2025, but this is now in jeopardy. The organisation is urgently appealing for $130 million to resume and scale up operations.