Nigeria, Somalia Join FAO-WFP’s Highest-Risk Hunger Category as Crisis Deepens

News in Brief:

—FAO and WFP warn that hunger will worsen across 13 hotspots between June and November 2026, with Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and Palestine remaining the most severe.

—Nigeria and Somalia have also moved into the highest-risk category, reflecting rising concerns over catastrophic hunger in parts of both countries.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Food Programme (WFP) have warned that acute food insecurity is likely to worsen for millions of people across 13 hunger hotspots between June and November 2026. Nigeria is included in this list of countries, tagged as countries of greatest concern.

The warning, contained in the latest edition of the twice-a-year Hunger Hotspots Report, comes amid conflict, economic shocks and shrinking humanitarian budgets that continue to deepen hunger in some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.

Hunger Hotspots Report

The latest report, released through the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), identified Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and Palestine as the world’s most critical hunger hotspots in terms of severity and scale. It also placed Nigeria and Somalia in the highest-risk category, raising fresh concern over the possibility of catastrophic hunger in parts of both countries.

For Nigeria, the warning is especially troubling because projections point to Borno State as one of the areas at greatest risk. The WFP has said about 15,000 people in Borno could face catastrophic hunger in 2026, with the state already suffering the impact of years of violence, displacement and disrupted livelihoods.

Armed Conflict, Violence as Drivers

Across the 13 hotspots, armed conflict and violence remain the main drivers of food crises. UN reporting says these pressures are worsened by economic hardship, growing displacement and falling aid flows, leaving humanitarian agencies with less room to respond as needs rise.

The warning also lands at a time when aid agencies are struggling with tighter budgets and more complex emergencies. The UN said the hunger outlook has deteriorated in several fragile states, with millions now facing severe levels of food insecurity and a growing risk of famine in the worst-hit places.

US Funds UNICEF and WFP Intervention with $1 billion

In a separate development, the United States announced more than $1 billion in humanitarian and disaster-response assistance for UNICEF and the World Food Programme to support life-saving interventions in more than 40 countries facing humanitarian crises. The State Department said the package includes more than $218 million for UNICEF and more than $800 million for WFP.

The US government said the new funding builds on the December 2025 Humanitarian Reset memorandum of understanding with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which it said was designed to improve speed, efficiency and accountability in humanitarian delivery.

Officials said the reforms have helped streamline aid operations, reduce duplication and redirect more resources to frontline relief work through local humanitarian and resident coordinators. The latest grants, they added, are part of a broader shift away from fragmented funding arrangements that had often slowed the flow of emergency assistance.