The federal government has revealed that due to severe funding gaps from the World Food Programme (WFP), which has forced it to scale back its coverage, 575,000 vulnerable Nigerians (approximately 115,000 households) will be left without critical support.
Speaking yesterday during a press conference on sustainable response to address the humanitarian gap arising from the partial suspension of WFP Operations in Northeastern and Northwestern Nigeria, Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, noted that the suspension may lead to increased food insecurity, malnutrition, health risk, with approximately 300,000 children at risk of wasting due to the closure of 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states as well as further displacements and migration.
“The World Food Programme (WFP) currently delivers life-saving food assistance to 1.3 million vulnerable individuals, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, refugees, children, and pregnant and lactating women. However, due to severe funding gaps, WFP has been forced to scale back its coverage, reaching only 900,000 people in August and 725,000 in September 2025, thereby leaving 575,000 individuals (approximately 115,000 households) without critical support,” he said.
Sununu noted that the way forward was for the federal government to provide emergency funding to augment ongoing government efforts to bridge the gap created by the suspension of Activity 1 of Country Strategic Plan of WFP.
These, he said, include government special interventions, philanthropist and organised private sector contribution, implementation of sustainable solutions to address food insecurity, such as supporting local agriculture, promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and enhancing resilience to climate change.
It also included deliberate efforts aimed at strengthening collaboration and partnerships between governments, humanitarian organisations, and local communities to address the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition as well as building the capacity of local institutions and communities to respond to humanitarian crises and promote sustainable development.
Sununu urged both the local and international partners to provide urgent support to complement the efforts of governments in Nigeria to prevent humanitarian catastrophe.
He also called on the general public to support the providers of sustainable solutions to address the root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition and for strengthened collaboration and partnerships to support the most vulnerable populations.
(Daily Trust)
