Nigeria

The humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria’s Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) States persists, with the armed conflict in its fifteenth year.

Attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure have made people more vulnerable and continue to impede their access to life-saving assistance. More than 2 million people remain internally displaced, unable to return to their homes due to ongoing insecurity.

Protection needs are high, particularly for women and girls who face elevated risks of violence, abduction, rape, and other forms of gender-based violence. Children – especially those unaccompanied or separated from their families – are vulnerable to forced recruitment. Conflict and insecurity have cut people off from their agricultural production, resulting in food insecurity. Climate change is also compounding humanitarian needs in Nigeria at an alarming rate.

At least 7.8 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2025, and the humanitarian community aims to reach 3.6 million of the most vulnerable among them.

In 2025, at least 1 million children under the age of five in the BAY states are at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition. This is double the number of children that were affected in 2024. Without timely access to lifesaving nutrition services, many of these children may not survive.

Severe funding cuts have drastically reduced the humanitarian community’s ability to deliver timely assistance to affected communities. In the BAY states, 70 per cent of health and 50 per cent of nutrition services have been affected. As a result, at least 40 per cent of the 2.3 million children and women in need of these services across these states currently lack access to essential care. 

In 2025, the UN and its partners aim to provide life-saving assistance to 2 million of the most vulnerable people. The reprioritised Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan seeks US$298 million to meet most urgent needs.

Timely and flexible funding will be essential to sustain and scale operations and protect the most at-risk communities.

*The 2025 figures have also been referenced on the humanitarian action info page.