More than 300,000 children in north-east Nigeria are now at risk of severe malnutrition following the suspension of food aid by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The move has forced over 150 Supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states to shut down, cutting off life-saving treatment for vulnerable children.
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Tanko Sununu, confirmed the suspension in Abuja on Monday, warning that several children are already being affected.
He said the cut is part of a global decline in humanitarian funding, which has left over 1.2 million Nigerians without the emergency food and cash transfers they previously relied on.
The WFP had earlier warned that 1.3 million people in the north-east could be impacted if food and nutrition aid was halted.
Its country director, David Stevenson, said nearly 31 million Nigerians nationwide are currently facing acute hunger.
Sununu noted that poverty is concentrated in the north, which accounts for 65 percent of Nigeria’s poor population, with over 70 percent being smallholder farmers.
Many have lost their farmlands and livelihoods to floods and droughts, worsening food insecurity in the region.
He added that the federal government is responding through the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), including conditional cash transfers and interest-free loans of up to ₦300,000 for farmers, to cushion the hardship.
Over 5.9 million households — about 25 million Nigerians — have so far benefited from ₦419 billion in direct support.
“These efforts are part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring Nigerians maintain dignity of life despite economic challenges,” Sununu said, assuring that vulnerable families will continue to receive government protection.