The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that more than 17 million people across nine conflict-affected states in northern Nigeria are now experiencing crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels of hunger — the worst situation in nearly a decade. A resurgence of jihadist violence since 2025, compounded by armed bandit gangs in the northwest, is displacing families from farmland and blocking humanitarian access, with the number of locations unreachable by WFP staff having doubled in recent months. The agency, which also cited severe funding cuts from the United States and other Western donors, is requesting $89 million over the next six months to sustain food assistance, warning that shortfalls are already pushing some individuals to join armed groups and leaving women and children vulnerable to exploitation.