The Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states in Nigeria are facing a severe crisis due to escalating food insecurity, with 4.8 million people now facing Crisis-level or worse conditions, as reported by the Cadre Harmonisé (CH) Phase 3 or higher. Over 600,000 of these individuals are in Emergency (CH4) status, indicating a dire need for immediate assistance. The situation has been exacerbated by rising insecurity, climate shocks, market disruptions, and the collapse of household purchasing power.
Funding for food assistance has almost ceased, with only 1. 3 per cent of the required US$224. 4 million for 2026 having been received.
This has led to major pipeline breaks, leaving millions without support. A special six-month Reserve Allocation from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF), financially supported by the United States, is expected to provide additional assistance in early April. However, the scale of the needs is vast, and much more support is needed to ensure sustained help is available.
The Food Security Sector has warned that food insecurity is expected to deteriorate further between March and May 2026. Insecurity has escalated beyond earlier projections, particularly in Borno and Yobe, disrupting markets, restricting movement to farmlands, and triggering new displacement. Household food stocks are critically low, and rising transport and input costs, in part due to global energy disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East, are pushing essential commodities out of reach for the poorest families.
Lean — season projections for the period between June and September 2026 are even more alarming. The number of people projected to face Crisis or worse is expected to rise to 5.8 million, including 930,000 in Emergency (CH4) and 15,000 in Catastrophe (CH5) in Borno State. Households are likely to face widening food consumption gaps, engage in more extreme coping strategies, and see declining access to agricultural inputs, as insecurity and soaring costs undermine planting for the coming season.
Source: reliefweb
