Millions of Nigerians will face one of the worst lean seasons on record from June to August 2026, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Saturday.
Conflict, violence and funding shortfalls threaten food and child nutrition across the country.
OCHA said nearly one in seven people — about 35 million nationwide — are likely to face acute food insecurity during the lean season.
The UN Humanitarian Country Team described Nigeria as “one of the world’s largest hunger crises.”
“If assistance is further delayed, millions of families will be forced to further reduce meals, sell assets and withdraw their children from school,” OCHA said, warning of cascading social harms.
The crisis will fall hardest on northern Nigeria, where insecurity has disrupted farming, markets and humanitarian access.
OCHA projects acute malnutrition will peak, with about 6.4 million children at risk of wasting across the northwest and northeast.
Humanitarian partners report food-price spikes, blocked supply routes and farmland abandonment as drivers. These factors combine with reduced humanitarian funding to shrink life‑saving response capacity.
The UN and partners say the $516 million Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is just over 40% funded, with $215 million received so far.
OCHA said Nigeria’s Humanitarian Fund has jump‑started relief but called for urgent new resources to scale assistance.
Immediate priorities include food distributions, therapeutic feeding for malnourished children, cash transfers, and restoring market access.
Without prompt funding, OCHA warned, households will adopt harmful coping strategies that erode long‑term resilience.
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