Chiaka orjiako, WFP NIGERIA
Food insecurity is reaching alarming levels across Nigeria, with millions of vulnerable families struggling to access enough food to survive.
In northeastern Nigeria, years of conflict, displacement, and insecurity have severely disrupted livelihoods. Millions of people remain in displacement camps, unable to return to their communities or cultivate their farmlands. As a result, they rely almost entirely on humanitarian assistance for survival.
The combined effects of persistent insecurity, rising fuel prices, and increasing costs of essential commodities have further worsened the humanitarian situation, leaving many families unable to afford even one nutritious meal a day.
To help address the growing crisis, the Government of Japan has provided critical funding to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to support emergency food assistance for the most vulnerable people in northeast Nigeria.
For beneficiaries like Hadiza, a 30-year-old widow and mother of four from Borno State, the assistance has become a vital source of hope.
“After years of displacement and loss, the support I receive from WFP is helping me care for my children and rebuild our lives,” she said. “This food assistance is a lifeline for my little ones and me.”
Speaking on the intervention, Itaru Furata, Programme Policy Officer at WFP Nigeria, said Japan’s contribution comes at a critical time when millions of people across northern Nigeria are facing unprecedented levels of hunger.
“Japan’s support comes at a critical moment, as millions of people in northern Nigeria face unprecedented levels of hunger. It is providing much-needed assistance to families struggling to survive. We do not take this support for granted and call on other donors to join our mission to save the lives of the most vulnerable,” Furata said.
Despite escalating insecurity, WFP continues to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to communities hardest hit by conflict, displacement, and climate-related shocks.
As the world’s largest humanitarian organization, WFP plays a vital role in stabilising vulnerable communities through emergency food assistance while supporting recovery efforts and building pathways toward resilience, peace, and long-term prosperity.
For the past decade, WFP has maintained operations across the conflict-affected states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY), where insecurity and environmental challenges have severely disrupted food production, markets, and livelihoods.
However, humanitarian needs continue to outpace available resources.
WFP has therefore called on the international community, development partners, and donors to increase their support, warning that the consequences of inadequate humanitarian funding extend far beyond hunger.
Without sustained assistance, vulnerable populations face heightened risks of displacement, instability, and recruitment into armed groups. Continued humanitarian support remains essential not only for saving lives but also for strengthening community resilience and promoting long-term peace and security.
Food assistance, alongside WFP’s broader interventions in local markets and livelihoods, has been instrumental in helping stabilise affected communities. As humanitarian needs continue to grow, WFP emphasises that reducing assistance is not an option, urging the global community to act swiftly to prevent further deterioration of the crisis.
