The United Nations has warned that about 35 million Nigerians could face acute hunger between June and August 2026 as worsening insecurity, economic hardship and funding shortages deepen the country’s food crisis.
The UN Humanitarian Country Team said Nigeria is facing “a deepening hunger crisis” ahead of the annual lean season, with northern states expected to bear the heaviest burden.
“Nearly one in seven people, that is 35 million people nationwide in Nigeria, are likely to face acute food insecurity during this year’s lean season, which runs from June to August,” the UN said.
The organisation warned that delayed humanitarian support could worsen conditions for millions of vulnerable households already struggling with inflation, conflict and displacement.
“If assistance is further delayed, millions of families will be forced to reduce meals further, sell assets, or withdraw their children from school,” the UN stated.
According to the World Food Programme, around 15,000 people in Borno State are already at risk of “catastrophic hunger” and conditions close to famine.
The UN also disclosed that an estimated 6.4 million children across northern Nigeria are expected to suffer acute malnutrition this year, while nearly three million children under five face life-threatening severe acute malnutrition nationwide.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohamed Malick Fall said shrinking global aid budgets have worsened the crisis.
“These are not statistics.
"These numbers represent lives, futures and Nigerians,” Fall said.
The UN said only about $215 million of the $516 million needed for Nigeria’s 2026 humanitarian response plan has been received so far.
Humanitarian agencies blamed the crisis on insurgency, displacement, climate shocks, rising food prices and declining international aid, particularly in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
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