Abuja: The World Food Programme (WFP) announced Wednesday that it will be forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in northeast Nigeria at the end of July due to depleted stocks.

According to Qatar News Agency, WFP country director for Nigeria David Stevenson stated that when emergency assistance ends, many will migrate in search of food and shelter. Others may resort to negative coping mechanisms, including potentially joining insurgent groups, to survive. He added that support for an additional 720,000 people was planned for the second half of the year before funding shortfalls put lifesaving programs in jeopardy.

Stevenson emphasized that this situation is not just a humanitarian crisis but a growing threat to regional stability, as families are pushed beyond their limits with nowhere to turn. He noted that more than 150 WFP-supported nutrition clinics in Borno and Yobe states will close, ending potentially lifesaving treatment for more than 300,000 children under two, placing them at increased risk of wasting.

Aid organizations have confirmed that the violence in northeastern Nigeria has killed hundreds and displaced at least two million people. The WFP indicated that it needs USD 131 million to continue its operations in the northeast this year.

US President Donald Trump announced a cut in his country’s contribution to global humanitarian aid, impacting the budgets of agencies such as the WFP. The WFP reported that its food stocks in Nigeria had run out due to a funding shortage, with the remaining supplies leaving warehouses in early July.