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Current Requirements (US$)$910.2 million
Crisis overview
Nigeria faces extensive humanitarian challenges, with an estimated 33 million people experiencing food insecurity. Additionally, 1.8 million children in six northeastern and northwestern states are at risk of severe acute malnutrition– among the highest global levels according to the IPC. Weak rule of law institutions and ongoing conflict involving Boko Haram have led to an acute protection crisis, displacing millions, destroying critical infrastructure, disrupting livelihoods and restricting humanitarian assistance.
Climate change, rapid population growth—projected to reach 400 million by 2050 according to the World Bank—mismanaged dams and poor urban planning have made Nigeria one of Africa's most flood-prone countries. Recent floods affected 34 out of 36 states, with Borno being the most severely impacted. Flooding claimed 320 lives, affected 1.4 million people, displaced 730,000 individuals, destroyed 120,000 houses. About 260,000 hectares of farmland were destroyed resulting in harvest loss equivalent to food for 13 million people. These floods also disrupted agricultural production, worsened food insecurity, and caused waterborne disease, including cholera.
Nigeria’s humanitarian situation is further impacted by a severe economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and currency devaluation. Inflation is projected to peak at 35 per cent in 2025, with a 30 per cent surge in prices reported in September 2024 alone. Many families cannot afford basic food items due to rising costs, compounded by floods and agricultural output. The naira's cumulative 70 per cent devaluation against the US dollar between 2023-2024 has also driven up the cost of food imports food and agricultural inputs. Persistently high inflation and a weakened currency will likely maintain elevated food prices throughout 2025, intensifying vulnerabilities among millions.
Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria
Aisha and her mother Yagana stand in their damaged home, which they lost during the floods that also swept away their food supplies and personal effects.
OCHA/Chima OnweA severe nationwide cholera outbreak is intensifying humanitarian needs, especially in the northern states of Borno, Adamawa, Jigawa, Yobe, and Kano. By mid-October, over 14,000 suspected cases and 378 deaths were reported. Recent floods and inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure have exacerbated the rapid spread of disease. The combination of natural disasters and public health emergencies strains already limited healthcare resources, escalating the urgency for humanitarian assistance.
Violence continues in the BAY states (Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe) after 15 years of conflict. The nature of conflict has evolved in recent years, shifting from large-scale attacks on military or government facilities to predatory attacks targeting civilians. Whilst military casualties have decreased, civilian casualties have been steadily increasing, with over 4,000 civilians killed in the BAY states last year. Displacement and disrupted livelihoods require sustained support, as ongoing instability continues to hinder access to basic services.
The 2025 People in Need (PiN) estimate reflects contextual changes, with slight decrease from from 7.9 million people in 2024 to 7.8 million in 2025. However, the nutrition sector has seen a 27 per cent increase in PiN, driven by food insecurity, and inadequate access to health, water and sanitation. Economic hardships have contributed to worsening food security, with one in four children under five experiencing acute malnutrition in some areas. Shelter needs has also increased by 11 per cent, likely due to displacement from floods and conflict. Meanwhile, PiN for education and health decreased by 13 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, possibly due to improvements or shifts in the focus of interventions. These changes underscore the evolving humanitarian landscape in the BAY states and the need for adaptive strategies to address emerging challenges in 2025 and beyond.
Severity analysis reveals that most local government areas (LGAs) in the BAY states are at severity level 3, indicating severe conditions. A total of 17 LGAs in Yobe, 15 in Adamawa, and 13 in Borno are determined to be at severity level 3. Nine LGAs are at severity level 4, requiring immediate life-saving interventions—8 in Borno and 1 in Adamawa. Ten LGAs, split between Adamawa and Borno, are at severity level 2 with strained basic services. Only one LGA in Borno is at severity level 1. No area or LGA is at severity level 5. These Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework results underscore areas of greatest needs and where interventions should be prioritized.
Borno State, Nigeria
A community volunteer screens children under 5 years for malnutrition. In Borno State, malnutrition is a critical issue, with nearly half of the children under five stunted and a significant number suffering from severe acute malnutrition, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive nutritional interventions.
OCHA/Chima OnweResponse priorities in 2025
In 2024, despite numerous challenges, significant progress was made in reaching people in need. The food security, health and protection sectors reached 60 per cent, 72 per cent, and 100 per cent of their target populations, respectively. Notably, 57 per cent of those assisted (3.2 million) were women and girls, many of whom received support for gender-based violence (GBV). These achievements were facilitated by relatively good funding levels of the HRP (56 percent as of November 2024) and proactive planning, targeting and dynamic prioritization, such as the lean season plan. However, the impact of flooding and cholera outbreaks stretched resources, and diverted resources away from planned interventions. This underscores the need to increase emphasis on anticipatory action and improved targeting through preparedness planning.
For 2025, the humanitarian response will continue the two-year strategy adopted in the 2024 HRP, focusing on three main objectives: providing life-saving assistance, protecting rights, and promoting transformation of the operation and empowerment of affected people and local partners. Underpinning these strategic objectives is an emphasis on improving the efficiency and impact of aid delivery, working more closely with government and development partners to address the underlying causes of vulnerability, enhancing the role of local partners, reducing transaction costs and finding more efficient modalities of delivery, while improving accountability to affected people. Efforts will also be made to find alternative resources, including through the Government. The HCT in Nigeria has committed to 10 per cent of the operation being channeled through local partners. A changing context, funding environment, and other factors necessitate a smarter, more agile response approach to effectively address people's needs and optimize resource allocation in certain parts of the BAY states.
Due to operational challenges including funding and capacity constraints, the number of people targeted for assistance in 2025 has been adjusted to align with realistic capacities. Current resources are expected to reach approximately 2.8 million people, down from 3.6 million targeted in 2024. This reduction reflects careful boundary-setting and prioritization.
Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) waiting to receive resettlement packages provided by the Borno State Government at the Muna IDP camp. The Government provides cash, food items, bedding, farming tools, and clothing to IDPs relocating from camps to their communities as part of its resettlement plan.
OCHA/Chima OnwePrioritizing and targeting of people in need has been determined based on the multi-sector severity scale, with the subsequent priorities outlined below. Priority 1 focuses on areas with severity level 4 (extreme), requiring immediate life-saving interventions in parts of Borno and Adamawa states, costing $485 million to reach 2 million people. Priority 2 targets severity level 3 (severe) areas, concentrating on vulnerable groups and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps with unmet basic needs, aiming to provide essential services and support durable solutions with $320 million to assist 1.3 million people. Priority 3 focuses on anticipatory action and proactive approaches to address cyclical humanitarian events like flooding and disease outbreaks, aiming to shift from reactive measures to a proactive cycle that reduces suffering and enhances efficiency. This collaborative effort requires $45 million to meet the needs of 300,000 people by ensuring preparedness and swift action through coordination among the government, development partners, humanitarian actors, and affected communities.
Nigeria has some of world’s highest levels of humanitarian needs. While the HCT recognizes that many needs exist elsewhere in the country, they do not believe that they are best addressed through the HNRP. Crisis level malnutrition in the north-west of Nigeria and large-scale displacement will therefore seek a different model where humanitarian and development actors act in tandem to address these issues. Emphasis will be on the leadership of government and their allocation of resources. Equal focus will be given to a localized approach, aimed at building or strengthening local institutions. This strategy seeks to ensure that humanitarian interventions remain limited in scope and duration, prioritizing efforts to address the root causes of vulnerability.
Saving Jamila: A story of local support in north-east Nigeria
Earlier this year, Hadiza Abubakar’s 18-month-old daughter, Jamila, began rejecting food and losing weight. Hadiza, 26, thought it was only a minor illness and treated her with traditional remedies.
But when Jamila began vomiting after every meal and continued losing weight, Hadiza grew desperate. “The stress of watching my daughter’s health deteriorate made me lose my own appetite,” Hadiza shared. “My husband was worried and seeking help everywhere. I stopped eating because I was so scared my baby would die.”
Fortunately, volunteers from Life at Best Development Initiative (LABDI), a local non-governmental organization supported by the OCHA-managed Nigeria Humanitarian Fund, visited Hadiza’s community to raise awareness about malnutrition. During this visit Hadiza learned about LABDI’s outpatient therapeutic programme, and immediately took Jamila. Doctors diagnosed Jamila with moderate acute malnutrition and malaria. She was treated for malaria and given ready-to-use therapeutic food, a peanut-based paste, to aid her recovery.
Financial requirements
In 2025, the humanitarian community in the northeast and northwest requires $900 million to provide life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to 3.6 million people. The funding requirement reflects improved prioritization, targeting as well as boundary setting. It is envisaged that efficiency gains can be made through reducing transaction costs, modes of delivery and what is being delivered. While the funding requirement has decreased from $1.3 billion in 2023, to $926.5 million in 2024 and to $900 million in 2025, the number of people in need has remained relatively stable. The HCT has adopted an activity-based costing methodology, with light project formulation from sector partners to gauge capacity in high-risk operational contexts.
Evolution of the humanitarian response
08-Feb-2026
Evolution of the humanitarian response
| Year | Type | People in need | People targeted | Requirements ($) | Funding ($) | % Funded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |
5.9 million
|
2.5 million
|
$516.4 million
|
$37 million
|
7.2%
|
|
| 2025 |
7.8 million
|
3.6 million
|
$910.2 million
|
$282.2 million
|
31%
|
|
| 2024 |
7.9 million
|
4.4 million
|
$926.5 million
|
$555.8 million
|
60%
|
|
| 2023 |
8.3 million
|
6 million
|
$1.31 billion
|
$577.8 million
|
44%
|
|
| 2022 |
8.4 million
|
5.6 million
|
$1.13 billion
|
$752.9 million
|
66.8%
|
|
| 2021 |
8.7 million
|
6.4 million
|
$1.01 billion
|
$714.7 million
|
71%
|
|
| 2020 |
10.6 million
|
7.8 million
|
$1.08 billion
|
$631.9 million
|
58.5%
|
|
| 2019 |
7.1 million
|
6.2 million
|
$847.7 million
|
$630 million
|
74.3%
|
|
| 2018 |
7.7 million
|
6.1 million
|
$1.05 billion
|
$725 million
|
69.2%
|
|
| 2017 |
HRP
|
|
|
$1.05 billion
|
$770.2 million
|
73%
|
2024 in review: Response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response highlights
In 2024, 3.2 million people received aid, including over 2 million in hard-to-reach areas. Notably, 57 per cent of those assisted were women and girls, many of whom received support for GBV. The food security, health, and protection sectors reached 60 per cent, 72 per cent, and 100 per cent of their target populations, respectively.
A swift response was implemented for the Maiduguri flash floods that affected half a million people, including an effective cholera response. By prioritizing the lean season with a multi-sector plan, clear prioritization and sequencing of activities were implemented, including anticipatory action.
As part of the flood response, protection sector partners reached 1,280 individuals through sessions on child protection, GBV prevention, human rights, healthcare access, mental health, and psychosocial support. Efforts to support vulnerable populations included providing mental health and psychosocial support to 1,200 flood-affected individuals and offering psychosocial first aid to 1,700 people. Partners managed 63 cases of GBV, provided PeP kits to 163 survivors, and referred 124 individuals for specialized services like medical assistance and family reunification. Awareness-raising activities reached 8,695 people, focusing on cholera prevention and hygiene. Additionally, 500,000 children under one-year-old received oral cholera vaccinations, improving health outcomes in affected communities.
Strengthening local actors' participation in humanitarian responses in north-east Nigeria
Local organizations are critical first responders during humanitarian crises, mobilizing resources and delivering aid quickly. Their understanding of their communities allows them to quickly identify and assist the most vulnerable people ensuring that help is directed where it is needed most.
Local organizations have a unique understanding of the cultural dynamics, local context and the specific needs of affected people, which enables them to deliver assistance effectively and sensitively.
"As national organizations, we are closer to the community than most international organizations because we speak the same the language and most of them are our brothers and sisters," said Abubakar Askira, from the Hallmark Leadership Initiative Nigeria.
Recognizing the vital role that local civil society organizations (CSOs) play, OCHA in Nigeria is providing training, resources, and support to strengthen their operational capabilities.
Since early 2024, OCHA Nigeria has conducted two capacity-strengthening workshops for 48 CSO participants in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states. Participants, selected by CSO networks, include women-and youth-led organizations and groups focused on disability.
By investing in local organizations, OCHA aims to build more resilient humanitarian response, empowering these groups to continue their work long after international agencies have left the scene.
Consequences of inaction
Underfunding and limited resources are posing severe threats to humanitarian efforts. Without additional funding, the following consequences are imminent:
Collapse of critical pipelines
Many of the interventions in the HNRP are time-sensitive. Delays in funding could lead to the collapse of key pipelines such as nutrition programs, with dire consequences for vulnerable children.
Suspension of malnutrition facilities
Nearly one-third of the 813 facilities managing acute malnutrition across the BAY states may suspend operations in the fourth quarter.
Reversal of food security gains
Reduced assistance mean that hard-won progress in mitigating food insecurity is at risk. Without an extended lean season response, more individuals may fall into worse food security classifications.
Rising malnutrition rates
Without sustained nutrition assistance, the number of acutely malnourished cases in hotspot LGAs could rise to 1 in 3. This spike is due to cholera outbreaks, flash flooding, food shortages, price hikes, deteriorating infant feeding practices, and poor hygiene conditions.
Funding constraints have also led to reduced transfer values, deteriorating access to food for already vulnerable households. Recent floods and high inflation rates are compounding these issues, especially for those who rely entirely on emergency assistance. If funding falls short of targets, reduced access to nutritious food will further increase morbidity and mortality rates, particularly among children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people with disabilities. Malnutrition will intensify, leading to higher susceptibility to diseases and potentially fatal outcomes.
Moreover, food insecurity is heightening protection risks. Many IDPs in camps and return areas are not engaged in meaningful livelihood activities and depend heavily on overstretched food assistance. This situation is forcing many to adopt negative coping mechanisms. Reports indicate that women and girls are resorting to transactional sex, while children are turning to begging or engaging in child labor to survive. Insufficient funding could exacerbate these risks, leading to increased exploitation, abuse, and long-term social consequences.