Emergency
North Eastern Nigeria
- 32 million
- severely food insecure
- 3.6 million
- people displaced by violence and insecurity
- US$227 million
- needed for WFP operations until March 2025
More than 32 million Nigerians are suffering severe food shortages due to ongoing conflict, internal displacement and rising food prices.
The prolonged humanitarian crisis, worsened by high inflation and climate change, is endangering the lives of children, pregnant women, and entire communities.
Northeast Nigeria faces conflict, insurgency and climate shocks, and bears a heavy burden of the country's food crisis. But the risk also includes areas in the northwest and elsewhere across the country.
Devastating floods in Maiduguri in the northeast in September have led to over 400,000 people being temporarily displaced in and around Maiduguri. WFP is providing hot meals in temporary camps set up for flood-affected people, reaching close to 78,000 people with two hot meals each day within the first 24-hours of our response. In addition, WFP is providing families with dry rations of fortified rice and pulses to complement the Government’s rehabilitation programme.
WFP urgently needs US$228 million to stave off catastrophe in the northeast, meet the food and nutrition needs of 1.6 million people, and help stabilize the situation before its impact spirals far beyond Nigeria’s borders.
What the World Food Programme is doing to respond to the North Eastern Nigeria emergency
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Food assistance
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WFP uses either food or cash transfers to support displaced people living in camps or with host communities, as well as vulnerable host populations. With diminishing resources, WFP is prioritizing its operations to reach 1.1 million vulnerable people every month in northern Nigeria.
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Nutrition
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WFP provides specialized nutritious food to children under 5 at risk of malnutrition, and pregnant and to nursing women. Jointly with UNICEF and NGO partners, WFP delivers essential health and nutrition services to prevent and treat acute malnutrition. Surveys in camps for internally displaced people in Borno State show a significant drop in malnutrition rates among the population supported by WFP and other humanitarian agencies. However, overall malnutrition figures remain very high, especially in the more remote, conflict-affected areas in the northeast.
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Resilience
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In collaboration with the Government of Nigeria and other partners, WFP is implementing livelihoods programmes and income-generating activities. We give cash to people in the short term, while providing training so displaced people can acquire skills and employment in the long term, in areas such as food processing, aquaculture, vegetable gardening, tailoring and carpentry.
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Logistics and emergency telecommunications
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The Emergency Telecommunications Service (ETS) provides internet connectivity in eight field locations. In Damasak, northeast Nigeria, the ETS is upgrading the UniFi devices – the internet access point – to the latest version so that humanitarian workers can use enhanced ETS services. Overall, ETS provides internet connectivity to 3,000 users from over 90 organizations, including many United Nations agencies and NGOs across northeast Nigeria.
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UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS)
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WFP provides air transport to the entire humanitarian community, including helicopters to carry vital relief – vaccines, medicine, medical equipment and staff – to hard-to-reach, isolated areas. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by WFP, was transporting over 3,700 passengers a month by the end of 2023. UNHAS was also transporting 10.2 mt of light humanitarian cargo each month, reaching 14 locations. UNHAS passenger and cargo services support more than 80 organizations in Nigeria.
How you can help
Help save lives during hunger emergencies. Right now, hungry families in countries like Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad are relying on us for food. But WFP’s resources are stretched thin. Be a lifeline today.
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