Millions in Central Sahel and Nigeria at Risk of Food Cuts Due to Severe Funding Crisis

The latest Cadre Harmonisé regional food security analysis, released in December 2024, shows that Western Africa is in the grips of an acute food security and nutrition crisis.

An estimated 52.7 million women, men, and children are projected to experience acute hunger between June and August 2025.

This includes 3.4 million in emergency food insecurity (IPC-Phase 4) across the Sahel region and 2,600 in catastrophic hunger (IPC-Phase 5) in northern Mali.

Khadija working on her farm. As part of the project, she has been trained on climate-smart agriculture. ion.

This is the largest insurance pay-out claims Malawi has ever witnessed in its 6 years of implementing crop insurance for smallholder farmers and the larger payout on the African continent to date.
WFP provides farmers with the option of crop insurance to safeguard their livelihoods in times of shock. Farmers either pay for a premium or work for 14 days (over six months during the off-season) to create assets that reduce their vulnerability to hazards over time. This (and/or a contribution in cash from participants) pays for their crop insurance coverage, which triggers a pay-out in the event of a shock. In a good season, even when no pay-out is triggered, farmers are still improving their capacity to cope with weather shocks as a result of the assets created.
In the event of a bad season (low yield) a pay-out is triggered, allowing farmers to purchase food or invest in alternative livelihoods despite the reduced harvest.
In 2021, the insurance pay-out will benefit more than 57,000 farmers across the districts of Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Machinga, Mangochi, Nsanje, Phalombe.
It will compensate farmers for yield loss of maize, beans, sorghum, rice, groundnuts, cotton and pigeon peas. Protecting farmers’ investments with insurance means that when a shock hits, compensation for losses prevents farmers from resorting to desperate measures, such as selling their livestock or taking their children out of school.

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Malawi | Photo: WFP/Badre Bahaji. Women working on her farm. As part  of the project, she has been trained on climate-smart agriculture. ion.

The hunger crisis in West Africa is driven by conflict, displacement, economic crises, and severe climate shocks, with devastating floods in 2024 affecting over six million people across the region.

Despite the ever-increasing needs in West and Central Africa, the proportion of the population facing extreme hunger (IPC Phases 4 and 5) is projected to increase by over 20 per cent by June 2025.

However, the region remains chronically underfunded. As a result, WFP is forced to regularly make the difficult decision to cut rations, effectively taking from the hungry to feed the starving. 

In Chad, the influx of refugees arriving from Sudan is placing enormous pressure on already limited resources, fueling tension and competition between communities, and leading to congestion at sites near the border with Sudan.

This is particularly concerning as Chad enters its sixth consecutive year of severe food insecurity in 2025, with 4.2 million people affected during the June-August lean season – a more than 200 percent increase compared to 2020.

In neighboring Nigeria, the prolonged humanitarian crisis, worsened by high inflation and weather-related shocks, is endangering the lives of children, pregnant women, and entire communities.

During the June-August lean season, 33.1 million Nigerians are expected to face severe food shortages. Northeast Nigeria bears a particularly heavy burden, with 4.8 million people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states facing acute hunger – an increase from 4.3 million in 2023.

WFP is working with the national governments, to assess and adapt its response to ensure urgent assistance reaches the most vulnerable, while calling for timely and flexible donor support, and safe and unhindered access to crisis-affected families amidst a challenging and volatile security and humanitarian landscape.

“The West and Central Africa region has long been neglected in terms of international funding and attention. We need a paradigm shift to reverse the worsening trend of hunger and its impact on vulnerable women, men, and children,” van der Velden added.

About WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.