The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) states that it will close half of its health clinics in Nigeria?s conflict-torn northeast this month, as donor funding dwindles and humanitarian support wanes.

The agency stated that it had received no new funding to continue providing food and nutrition support to 1.3 million people, despite a $130 million emergency appeal to sustain operations through 2025.

?The immediate and most brutal effect will be on child nutrition,? said Chi Lael, WFP?s head of communications, on Monday. ?Half of the 300 clinics we run will be closed this month, cutting off lifesaving treatment for 300,000 children.?

Nigeria is facing a record food crisis, with 31 million people at risk of hunger. According to the UN, nearly one in five people in the country?s northeast is experiencing acute food insecurity due to years of insurgency and displacement.

This year, Nigeria allocated just $326,000 for tackling malnutrition and stunting in high-burden states.

Humanitarian agencies across Africa have been hit by a steep drop in donor contributions. US President Donald Trump significantly slashed foreign aid during his term, and many European countries have since redirected funding toward domestic priorities, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

In July, Doctors Without Borders warned of soaring child malnutrition in northern Nigeria, calling it a ?preventable crisis exacerbated by funding gaps.?

Lael warned that without continued food assistance, the fragile stability in the region could collapse.

?The fear is that when food assistance ends, so will stability in northern Nigeria,? she said. ?And the longer this is left unfunded, the harder it will be to pull the region back.? (BusinessDay)

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