UN agencies running out of food supplies in Nigeria amid US aid funding cuts

The World Food Programme (WFP) is on the verge of running out of food in Nigeria this month due to devastating aid cutbacks, putting over a million people in imminent danger of starvation.

The British The Independent publication has been the first to report this concerning development citing their sources, noting that this development follows a string of alarming reports from Nigeria after the Trump Administration cancelled over 80 percent of aid programs managed by USAID, which had previously been a major source of humanitarian support for the country.

In April, President Tinubu declared a national state of emergency on food security. The publication cites an April report generated in partnership by the WFP and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which warned that 30.6 million Nigerians were facing a food crisis or severe food insecurity. The report also revealed that 5.4 million children were acutely malnourished, driven by growing conflict, economic strain, and climate-related disasters.

Now, WFP—the UN’s primary humanitarian food agency—says it is out of money and cannot continue its operations beyond July.

“We only have resources to go on until this month, and the way things are looking, people are going to starve,” said WFP Nigeria spokesperson Chi Lael.

“We do not have any contingency. We don’t have any carry-over. We are using all the money we have, which takes us to July,” Lael continued. “Our office is completely stunned right now.”

Lael, who has worked with WFP since 2018, emphasized that this situation is unlike typical funding fluctuations that humanitarian organizations sometimes weather. “There really is no plan for anyone to step in,” she said.

WFP will still be able to provide food assistance to 1.3 million people in July, but starting in August, that number will drop to zero. Meanwhile, WFP’s network of nutrition clinics—vital for treating childhood malnutrition—is also set to shut down. Beginning this month, 150 clinics will close, cutting off treatment for 300,000 malnourished children almost immediately.

By Nazrin Sadigova