The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an urgent appeal for $620 million to prevent a halt in food and nutrition assistance to over two million people in Nigeria and the Central Sahel region next month.
The funding shortfall threatens to disrupt crucial aid to refugees in Chad and Mali, as well as food-insecure populations in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria.
WFP Regional Director Margot van der Velden cited the “global shrinkage of foreign aid” as a significant threat to operations in the region.
The funding crisis coincides with the anticipated early arrival of the lean season, when hunger typically peaks.
The agency warns that millions could face emergency levels of hunger, requiring immediate international support to avert a catastrophic situation.
Conflict, displacement, economic instability, and climate shocks, including devastating floods, have fueled the hunger crisis in West Africa.
The WFP projects that 52.7 million people will experience acute hunger between June and August 2025, including a large population of Sudanese refugees.
The proportion of people facing extreme hunger is expected to rise above 20% by June 2025.
While the WFP receives a substantial portion of its funding from the United States, the agency’s statement did not directly attribute the shortfall to U.S. aid cuts.
It emphasized that West and Central Africa remain “chronically underfunded,” highlighting the ongoing need for increased international support.