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USAID cuts leave millions hungry in Nigeria

Jul 25, 2025, 6:56am EDT
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Two men empty a bag of rice into a bowl at a WFP distribution centre in Mafa, Borno State, Nigeria.
WFP Nigeria Communications Service/Reuters

Nigeria is facing “an unprecedented hunger crisis” following cuts to USAID on which humanitarian programs relied.

As many as 31 million people face acute food insecurity, “equivalent to the entire population of Texas going hungry,” the UN food agency’s regional head told the Associated Press.

Governments and humanitarian organizations across Africa had in recent decades become reliant on US aid to provide food and health care to millions of people, with the sudden cut leaving many scrambling to respond: Nigeria’s financing appeal is just 21% funded.

“We are seeing massive gaps in all countries,” a Doctors Without Borders official told DW. “The consequences are catastrophic.

A map showing African countries by foreign aid received as a share of national income.
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