UN Warns Hunger Crisis Deepens in Northern Nigeria
WFP says more than 17 million people face severe hunger in northern Nigeria as conflict and funding cuts worsen food insecurity.
More than 17 million people in northern Nigeria are facing severe hunger as conflict, displacement and funding shortages continue to worsen the humanitarian crisis.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that over 17 million people across nine conflict-affected states in northern Nigeria are experiencing severe hunger. According to the agency, the latest food security assessment shows that the number of people facing crisis, emergency or catastrophic hunger has increased by almost two million compared with earlier projections, making the situation the worst in nearly a decade.
The Northern Nigeria hunger crisis continues to worsen because of persistent violence, growing displacement and reduced humanitarian funding. Ongoing attacks by Islamist insurgents in the northeast and armed groups in other northern areas have forced many families from their homes, prevented farmers from cultivating their land and limited access for aid workers.
The crisis has become more severe during the annual lean season, when many households run out of stored food before the next harvest. The WFP said Borno State, the centre of the long-running insurgency, has more than three million people facing acute food insecurity. Of that figure, more than 750,000 people are experiencing severe hunger conditions.
“When people lose access to food, the risks of displacement, exploitation and instability increase,” said Kinday Samba, the WFP Regional Director for West and Central Africa. He added that expanding violence is forcing more communities away from farmland and increasing humanitarian needs.
The World Food Programme also revealed that limited funding has significantly reduced its operations. The agency said it can now support fewer than half of the 1.3 million people it assisted last year across three northeastern states, where 6.2 million people currently face food insecurity.
To continue providing food, nutrition and logistics support, the WFP said it urgently requires 89 million dollars over the next six months to respond to the growing Northern Nigeria hunger crisis.
What more should governments and international partners do to address the Northern Nigeria hunger crisis?
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