Nigeria is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster, the United Nations has warned, with unprecedented levels of hunger forecast amid escalating violence, soaring inflation, and critical funding shortfalls. In its starkest prediction yet, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) projects that up to 35 million Nigerians could be severely food insecure by 2026 — the highest number ever recorded in the country’s food insecurity monitoring.

The WFP report points to a toxic convergence of armed insurgency, economic instability, and climate shocks as the main drivers of the crisis. Violent attacks — particularly in the northeast by groups such as ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) and a newly active al-Qaeda-linked affiliate Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) — have disrupted farming activities, forcing many to abandon their lands, and have driven up displacement across vulnerable regions.

“The advance of insurgency presents a serious threat to stability in the north, with consequences reaching beyond Nigeria,” said David Stevenson, WFP Nigeria country director.

“Communities are under severe pressure from repeated attacks and economic stress.”

In Borno state alone, the WFP warns that at least 15,000 people could face famine-like conditions by mid-2026, as the region is tipped to reach “Phase 5” — its most severe level of food insecurity.

The agency also sounded the alarm on the deteriorating nutritional status of children, especially in states such as Borno, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara, where malnutrition is escalating from “serious” to “critical.”

Compounding the crisis is a dire funding shortfall. The WFP says its emergency food and nutrition programmes across northeastern Nigeria are at risk of grinding to a halt by the end of July, after depleting its stocks earlier this year.

Without an urgent injection of funds, over 1.3 million people could be cut off from lifesaving aid, including nutritional support for young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

According to the WFP, the September-November 2025 hunger assessment showed a rapid deterioration in food security compared to previous years.

The agency appealed to the international community to mount a “massive, coordinated response” focused not only on emergency food assistance, but also on preventive measures such as providing cash, seeds, and fertilizer to farmers, while scaling up nutrition, health, and water-sanitation efforts.

From the UN’s perspective, the stakes are high: a failure to act now could plunge millions more into crisis, further destabilize fragile regions, and fuel more displacement and unrest. As the WFP and its partners scramble to raise funds, humanitarian agencies are also warning of the long-term risks — including rising recruitment into extremist groups, should communities be left without viable alternatives.