Segun Atanda/
The United Nations has sounded the alarm over a $159 million funding shortfall threatening humanitarian operations in Nigeria, warning that hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people could be deprived of lifesaving assistance before the end of 2026.
United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, raised the concern while marking World Humanitarian Day in Maiduguri, Borno State, where he also called for stronger protection for aid workers operating under increasingly difficult and dangerous conditions.
Fall said millions of Nigerians were grappling with worsening food insecurity, malnutrition and disease outbreaks, particularly during the lean and rainy seasons, while humanitarian organisations faced dwindling resources.
He spoke after leading members of the UN and Humanitarian Country Teams on visits to nutrition and cholera treatment centres in Maiduguri, where they interacted with government health workers, humanitarian personnel, caregivers and patients.
According to the UN, humanitarian interventions in Nigeria’s Northeast reached almost 900,000 people in the first half of 2026 despite declining funding.
“Today, at the treatment centres we visited, I met humanitarian workers who continue to serve communities with extraordinary courage, dedication and compassion despite difficult and often dangerous conditions,” Fall said.
“We call for greater protection for these brave personnel so that they can do their critical work in safety.”
The UN official pointed to the response to the cholera outbreak in Borno State as an example of the impact of collaboration among government authorities, health workers and humanitarian organisations.
He disclosed that more than 55,000 cholera patients had been treated, while hygiene promotion services had reached over one million people.
More than 500 water points have also been chlorinated to provide communities with access to safe drinking water, an intervention the UN said helped bring the cholera case fatality rate below emergency levels.
Fall, however, warned that humanitarian personnel, medical facilities, relief supplies, aid convoys and civilian infrastructure must never become targets of violence.
“Humanitarian workers are not targets. Hospitals, treatment centres, relief supplies, assistance convoys and civilian infrastructure must be protected. International Humanitarian Law must be respected by all parties, at all times,” he said.
He stressed that attacks on humanitarian personnel ultimately hurt vulnerable communities by preventing assistance from reaching people desperately in need.
“When humanitarian workers cannot safely reach communities with assistance, it is vulnerable women, men and children who suffer the consequences,” Fall said.
“Protecting humanitarian personnel and ensuring safe, unimpeded access to people in need is both a moral imperative and a legal obligation.”
$135.5m Released, But Funding Gap Persists
The UN said $135.5 million had so far been distributed in Nigeria in 2026 through the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund and Central Emergency Response Fund to tackle humanitarian emergencies.
Despite the intervention, Nigeria’s already highly prioritised Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan faces a $159 million funding gap for the remainder of the year.
The UN warned that unless additional resources are secured, hundreds of thousands of people risk being cut off from lifesaving assistance.
Fall thanked international donors for their support but said humanitarian needs were growing faster than available resources.
“Current funding is only a fraction of what was just a few years ago. Additional international and domestic support is urgently required to help millions of people, particularly as we move towards a more locally led response in 2027,” he said.
The Humanitarian Coordinator also highlighted Nigeria’s transition towards a nationally led humanitarian response, saying the process offered an opportunity to strengthen local institutions and organisations already working on the front lines.
He said domestic resource mobilisation would become increasingly critical amid shrinking global humanitarian funding.
“Nigeria’s evolution towards a nationally led humanitarian system is both necessary and an enormous opportunity for the country to do things differently,” Fall said.
“This process must be adequately resourced, carefully managed and centred on the needs of affected communities.”
He called on governments, donors, civil society organisations and the private sector to rally behind vulnerable communities and humanitarian workers.
Fall added, “Behind every statistic is a family struggling to survive, a child battling malnutrition, a mother seeking treatment for cholera, or a community trying to rebuild after years of crisis.
“On this World Humanitarian Day, let us #ActForHumanity and reaffirm our shared responsibility to protect those supporting the most vulnerable.”
0Related posts:
Nigeria, UN Raise Alarm Over Rising Food Insecurity, Call for Protection of Humanitarian Workers
Humanitarian Crises in Nigeria Demand Collective Action – UN Rep Fall
Cholera Outbreak: What You Need to Know
Reaching the Most Vulnerable in Nigeria: Our Humanitarian Roadmap 2025
Nigeria Leads in Shell Social Investment with $40million
Berlin Conference: $2.52Bn Coming to fight Boko Haram