Segun Atanda/
The Federal Government of Nigeria and the United Nations have sounded the alarm over an escalating food and nutrition crisis in the country, warning that millions of children face life-threatening malnutrition if urgent action is not taken.
In a joint communiqué issued in Abuja to mark World Humanitarian Day 2025, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator called for stronger protection of humanitarian workers and civilians affected by conflicts and disasters.
The statement honoured the memory of aid workers, particularly national staff, who lost their lives while helping vulnerable communities. It stressed that “attacks on humanitarian workers, and more importantly, the people they seek to assist, must stop.”
According to the communiqué, Nigeria is experiencing worsening humanitarian needs, with an estimated 31 million people facing food insecurity and over 10 million children under five acutely malnourished. Of these, 3.5 million are severely malnourished, including 2.5 million in six states.
Alarmingly, some 400,000 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) are at imminent risk of death if immediate interventions are not provided. “Pipelines for food and nutrition that are lifelines for millions of people are severely disrupted, if not completely depleted,” the statement warned.
The communiqué lamented the global decline in humanitarian solidarity, citing collapsing international humanitarian financing, growing disdain for international humanitarian law, and rising attacks on humanitarian principles.
“Multilateralism has been replaced with short-term self-interest. Humanitarianism is under attack,” it noted, stressing the urgent need for reform of the international humanitarian system.
The Federal Government pledged to strengthen humanitarian operations by:
Increasing funding for food and nutrition interventions.
Linking humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts for more durable solutions.
The UN and humanitarian partners also committed to supporting a transition to locally led humanitarian action, where Nigerian institutions and actors will take the lead, while the international community provides enabling support, coordination, and humanitarian diplomacy.
Hon. Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, and Mohamed Malick, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, jointly signed the communiqué.
They urged both international and domestic partners to provide additional funding and resources for food and nutritional support, emphasizing that “urgent action is needed now to reverse the crisis and save millions of lives.”
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