The United Nations has warned that millions of Nigerians facing food insecurity, malnutrition and disease outbreaks could lose access to critical humanitarian support because of a $159 million funding gap in the 2026 response plan.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohamed Fall raised the concern in Maiduguri during activities marking World Humanitarian Day.
He said humanitarian needs were increasing faster than available resources and called for additional support from international donors, the Nigerian government, the private sector and other partners.
The warning followed visits by UN and humanitarian officials to nutrition and cholera treatment centres in Borno State.
Despite reduced funding, humanitarian organisations reached almost 900,000 people in the North East during the first half of 2026.
The UN said $135.5 million had been distributed through the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund and Central Emergency Response Fund during the year.
Additional funding is still required to sustain operations during the lean and rainy seasons, when food insecurity, malnutrition and disease risks often worsen.
Fall highlighted the ongoing cholera response in Borno as one example of the pressure on humanitarian resources.
More than 55,000 cholera patients had been treated, according to figures cited by the UN, while hygiene promotion services had reached more than one million people.
The organisation said continued underfunding could force agencies to reduce the number of communities or individuals receiving food assistance, nutrition treatment, healthcare and other essential services.
Humanitarian officials urged government, donors and private organisations to treat the funding gap as an urgent threat to vulnerable households rather than a routine budget issue.
