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The regional director of the World Food Program said that due to severe funding cuts starting in August, “we will face the heartbreaking reality of having to suspend humanitarian aid for the populations in areas devastated by conflict.”
Nigeria is facing an unprecedented hunger crisis, and the need for food is rising across West and Central Africa, while funds are shrinking, the UN food agency’s regional head said. Margot van der Velden, Regional Director of World Food Program (WFP) said nearly 31 million people in Nigeria are facing acute food insecurity and need life-saving food, a number equivalent to the entire population of Texas going hungry.
But the regional director of the World Food Program said that due to severe funding cuts starting in August, “we will face the heartbreaking reality of having to suspend humanitarian aid for the populations in areas devastated by conflict.”
That means over 1.3 million people in Nigeria will lose access to food and nutritional support, 150 nutrition clinics in Borno state in the northeast, where Islamic militants are active, may close, and 300,000 children will be at risk of severe malnutrition, and 700,000 displaced people “will be left with no means of survival,” she said.
For years, the US Agency for International Development had been the backbone of the humanitarian response in northeastern Nigeria, helping non-governmental organizations provide food, shelter, and health care to millions of people.
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The Trump administration has slashed foreign assistance and dismantled USAID, accusing the agency of waste and fraud and supporting a liberal agenda. Other Western donors have also slashed international aid spending.Van der Velden said WFP urgently needs $130 million to sustain its operations in Nigeria.
