The United Nations has sounded the alarm over a deepening food emergency in Nigeria, warning that approximately 35 million people nearly one in seven Nigerians are at risk of acute hunger between June and August this year.
The UN Humanitarian Country Team made the disclosure on Friday, describing Nigeria as now home to one of the world’s largest hunger crises. The burden, it said, falls overwhelmingly on communities in the northern part of the country.
“If assistance is further delayed, millions of families will be forced to reduce meals further, sell assets, or withdraw their children from school,” the UN warned, highlighting the long-term consequences of inaction.
The crisis is particularly devastating for children. Across the North-west and North-east regions, an estimated 6.4 million children are projected to face acute malnutrition before the end of the year.The UN is urgently appealing for funding to scale up life-saving humanitarian operations.
Its 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, already trimmed down to $516 million, remains critically underfunded with only $215 million, just over 40 per cent of the target, received as of May 2026.”Our partners and we are appealing for urgent funding to scale up life-saving assistance,” the global body said.

