Over 55M face a hunger crisis in West and Central Africa

• A hunger crisis looms over Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, which all account for 77% of the food insecure populations in the affected zone. At least 13 million children at risk of malnutrition this year, new report shows.
• Humanitarian aid cuts push millions deeper into hunger amid rising violence and population displacement in West and Central Africa.
• The WFP urgently requires more than $453 million over the next six months to continue providing life-saving humanitarian assistance across the region.

An estimated 55 million people across West and Central Africa region are staring at a hunger crisis this year, the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. At the moment, the WFP is seeking $453 million in humanitarian aid in the next six months in order to offer life-saving food assistance in the affected region.

The WFP said that the people at risk of hunger crisis includes 13 million children, who could suffer malnutrition even as they are caught up in a zone festering with increasing violence and displacement of population.

The latest analysis from the Cadre Harmonisé – the equivalent of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for West and Central Africa – also projects that over three million people will face emergency levels of food insecurity (Phase 4) this year – more than double the 1.5 million in 2020.

The analysis shows that four countries including Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger currently account for 77 percent of the food insecure populations, including 15,000 people in Nigeria’s Borno State who are at risk of catastrophic hunger (IPC-5) for the first time in nearly a decade.

With thinning humanitarian aid, millions face hunger in West and Central Africa

“Vital humanitarian aid is a transformative and stabilizing force in volatile contexts,” said Sarah Longford, Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

“The reduced funding we saw in 2025 has deepened hunger and malnutrition across the region. 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.”

A toxic combination of surging conflict, displacement of populations, and economic downturn in the region has been driving hunger to unprecedented levels, but reductions in humanitarian assistance are now pushing communities beyond their ability to cope.

In Mali, when families received reduced food rations, areas experienced a 64 percent surge in acute hunger (IPC 3+) since 2023, while communities that received full rations experienced a 34 percent decrease. But continued insecurity in Mali has disrupted critical supply lines to major cities – including for food – with 1.5 million of the most vulnerable Malians expected to face crisis levels of hunger.

In neighbouring Nigeria, last year’s funding shortfalls forced WFP to scale down its nutrition programmes, negatively impacting over 300,000 children with malnutrition levels in several northern states seen worsening from “serious” to “critical” levels in recent months. The WFP said it will only be able to reach 72,000 people in February across Nigeria, reflecting a drastic reduction from the 1.3 million assisted during the 2025 lean season.

The current dire funding outlook threatens to deepen the hunger crisis even further. In Cameroon, without urgent aid funding, more than half a million vulnerable people are at-risk of being cut off from life-saving assistance in the coming weeks.

WFP appeals for $453 million to stem adverse impact of hunger crisis

With adequate funding, WFP has consistently delivered measurable impacts that improve food security through resilience, social protection, and anticipatory action. Land restoration in the Sahel, for example, generates up to $30 for every dollar spent. Since 2018, WFP and communities have rehabilitated 300,000 hectares of farmland across five countries to support more than four million people in over 3,400 villages.

WFP programmes in the region have supported infrastructure development, school meals, nutrition, capacity building and seasonal aid to help families manage extreme weather and security risks, stabilize local economies and reduce dependency on aid.

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

At the moment, WFP urgently requires more than $453 million over the next six months to continue providing life-saving humanitarian assistance across the region.

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