Borno/Yobe, Nigeria – Over 300,000 children under the age of two are at risk of severe malnutrition following the shutdown of more than 150 nutrition clinics supported by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Borno and Yobe states due to critical funding shortages.
In a statement published on its official website, WFP warned that the closure will bring an end to potentially life-saving treatment for vulnerable children in Nigeria’s conflict-ravaged northeast, placing them at heightened risk of wasting and other severe forms of undernutrition.
The development comes after WFP earlier announced that it would be forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition assistance to 1.3 million people across northeast Nigeria by the end of July, citing the depletion of food stocks and a dire funding situation.
“WFP’s food and nutrition stocks have been completely exhausted. The organisation’s last supplies left warehouses in early July, and life-saving assistance will end after the current round of distributions is completed,” the statement read.
According to the WFP, the situation is especially dire given the backdrop of rising violence, displacement, and record levels of hunger in the Lake Chad region.
WFP Country Director for Nigeria, David Stevenson, described the crisis as both humanitarian and a growing threat to regional stability.
“Nearly 31 million people in Nigeria are now facing acute hunger — a record number. At the same time, WFP’s operations in northeast Nigeria will collapse without immediate, sustained funding,” Stevenson said. “This is no longer just a humanitarian crisis; it’s a growing threat to regional stability, as families pushed beyond their limits are left with nowhere to turn.”
The statement noted that insecurity driven by extremist groups has already displaced 2.3 million people across the Lake Chad Basin. As emergency aid dwindles, WFP warned that many displaced persons may turn to migration or fall into the grip of armed insurgent groups as a last resort.
“Food assistance can often prevent these outcomes. It allows us to feed families, help rebuild economies, and support long-term recovery,” Stevenson added.
WFP disclosed that its efforts in the first half of 2025 successfully reached 1.3 million people with critical food and nutrition support, with plans to expand aid to an additional 720,000 individuals in the second half of the year — plans now derailed due to the funding crisis.
To prevent a total collapse of its operations in Nigeria, WFP says it urgently requires $130 million in funding to sustain food and nutrition programmes through the end of 2025.
“WFP has the capacity and expertise to scale up its humanitarian response, but without immediate financial support, operations remain paralysed,” the agency said.
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