UN: Northern Nigeria to experience hunger at unprecedented level in 2026

UN: Northern Nigeria to experience hunger at unprecedented level in 2026
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A rise in attacks by militants across northern Nigeria is “driving hunger to levels never seen before” and is expected to result in the worst levels of food insecurity in Africa next year, Arab News reported citing World Food Programme.

The food agency of the United Nations projected 35 million people are likely to experience severe hunger in Nigeria by 2026, the highest on the continent and the largest since the agency began recording data in Nigeria.

The WFP also predicted at least 15,000 people in Borno state, the epicenter of Nigeria’s security crisis, will experience catastrophic hunger including famine-like conditions next year. Borno will be classified as Phase 5, the agency’s highest classification of food insecurity, similar to what has been seen in some parts of Gaza and Sudan.

Widespread attacks by various armed groups have deterred farmers from using their land, officials said.

In October, Al-Qaeda-affiliate Jama’at Nusrat Al-Islam wal-Muslimin took responsibility for its first attack in Nigeria, making the group the latest entrant in a pool of armed groups launching attacks in the country.

Nigeria also has been hard hit by a massive scaling down of UN food assistance following US President Donald Trump’s decision to gut the United States Agency for International Development.