Nigeria on UN Watchlist as Global Hunger Crisis Reaches Breaking Point

• The United Nations has placed Nigeria among 16 countries facing a worsening hunger emergency.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have issued a stark warning that Nigeria and 15 other nations are standing on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis.

In their latest joint report, “Hunger Hotspots: FAO–WFP Early Warnings on Acute Food Insecurity”, the agencies revealed that millions could face famine-like conditions in the coming months, driven by conflict, climate disasters, and economic collapse.

The most dire situations were recorded in Haiti, Mali, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen, where entire populations face what the UN describes as “an imminent risk of catastrophic hunger.”

Also flagged as countries of very high concern are Nigeria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, and Syria, alongside deteriorating conditions in Burkina Faso, Chad, Kenya, and among the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

“We are on the brink of a completely preventable hunger catastrophe that threatens widespread starvation in multiple countries,” — Cindy McCain, Executive Director, World Food Programme.

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McCain cautioned that failure to act decisively will fuel “further instability, migration, and conflict,” describing the crisis as a test of the world’s moral resolve.

The report exposed a deepening funding crisis — of the $29 billion needed for global humanitarian response, only $10.5 billion has been received so far. This shortfall has forced the WFP to slash food rations, suspend school feeding programmes, and limit refugee support in multiple regions.

Meanwhile, the FAO warned that underfunded agricultural programmes could trigger long-term instability. The agency stressed the urgency of supplying farm inputs, seeds, and livestock support before the next planting season to prevent “recurring cycles of hunger.”

“Without urgent investment in both humanitarian aid and food systems, the world will face the worst hunger crisis in modern history,” the report concluded.