The United Nations World Food Programme has warned that no fewer than 55 million people across West and Central Africa are expected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse during the June–August 2026 lean season, unless urgent funding and humanitarian action are mobilised.

The UN agency said the worsening food insecurity, driven by conflict, displacement, and deepening aid cuts, has placed Nigeria among the four most affected countries, alongside Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, which together account for 77 per cent of the region’s food-insecure population.

In Nigeria, the WFP raised alarm over about 15,000 people in Borno State who are now at risk of catastrophic hunger, known as IPC Phase 5, for the first time in nearly a decade, amid prolonged insurgency and shrinking humanitarian support.

The warning was contained in a statement published on its website and released on Friday, as the agency projected that more than 13 million children across the region would suffer acute malnutrition in 2026.

According to the latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis, the West and Central African equivalent of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, over three million people are expected to face emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4) this year, more than double the 1.5 million recorded in 2020.

The statement read, “The United Nations World Food Programme warns that without urgent resources and action, the most vulnerable people in West and Central Africa are headed for yet another dire year. A staggering 55 million people in the region are expected to endure crisis levels of hunger, or worse, during the June–August 2026 lean season. Over 13 million children are also expected to suffer from malnutrition in 2026.

“Four countries – Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger – account for 77 percent of the food insecurity figures, including 15,000 people in Nigeria’s Borno State at risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC-5) for the first time in nearly a decade.”

“The reduced funding we saw in 2025 has deepened hunger and malnutrition across the region,” said Sarah Longford, WFP’s Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

“As needs outpace funding, so too does the risk of young people falling into desperation. It’s critical that we support communities in crisis, so that rampant hunger doesn’t drive further unrest, displacement, and conflict across the region,” she added.

The WFP said thousands of people in Nigeria’s conflict-ravaged northeast are now facing the risk of catastrophic food shortages, as cuts to humanitarian assistance have forced the agency to drastically scale back its operations.

It disclosed that funding shortfalls in 2025 compelled the organisation to reduce nutrition programmes in Nigeria, affecting more than 300,000 children, while malnutrition levels in several northern states have since deteriorated from “serious” to “critical.”

The agency warned that the situation could worsen sharply in the coming months, revealing that only 72,000 people in Nigeria can be reached in February, compared with 1.3 million people assisted during the 2025 lean season. “This is a drastic reduction at a time when needs are rising rapidly,” the statement noted.

While conflict and economic pressures have fuelled hunger in the region for years, the WFP said reductions in humanitarian funding are now pushing vulnerable communities beyond their ability to cope.

Although the UN agency did not single out specific donors, humanitarian organisations have repeatedly raised concerns since the United States and several European countries cut foreign aid budgets, partly to redirect spending towards defence.

In Mali, the WFP said reduced food rations led to a 64 per cent surge in acute hunger in some areas since 2023, while communities that received full rations recorded a 34 per cent decline.

The agency added that continued insecurity in Mali has disrupted major food supply routes, leaving 1.5 million people facing crisis levels of hunger. In Cameroon, more than 500,000 vulnerable people risk being cut off from life-saving assistance in the coming weeks without urgent funding.

Despite the grim outlook, the WFP said its interventions continue to deliver measurable results where resources are available. It noted that land restoration programmes in the Sahel generate up to $30 for every $1 invested, while 300,000 hectares of farmland have been rehabilitated since 2018 across five countries, supporting over four million people.

However, the agency stressed that sustaining these efforts requires urgent financial support, revealing that it needs more than $453m over the next six months to continue delivering humanitarian assistance across West and Central Africa.

“To break the cycle of hunger for future generations, we need a paradigm shift in 2026,” Longford said. “National governments and their partners must increase investment in preparedness, anticipatory action and resilience-building to empower communities and reduce long-term dependence on aid.”