Dakar, Senegal — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) sounded the alarm today as persistent conflict, displacement, economic deterioration, and recurrent extreme weather in West and Central Africa are driving millions of people towards emergency levels of hunger (IPC4). According to the latest food security analysis of the Cadre Harmonisé, more than 36 million people are struggling to meet their basic food and nutrition needs, a number projected to rise to over 52 million during the June-August 2025 lean season, including almost three million in emergency conditions (IPC4), and 2,600 people in Mali at risk of facing catastrophic hunger (IPC5).
Unyielding conflict has forcibly displaced more than 10 million of the most vulnerable across the region, including 2.4 million refugees and asylum seekers, in Chad, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Niger. Almost eight million more have been internally displaced mainly in Nigeria, and Cameroon. Many have been cut off from their livelihoods – fleeing farms and grazing lands in search of food and shelter.
Food inflation exacerbated by rising food and fuel costs are pushing crisis hunger levels to new highs in Ghana, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire. Food prices continue to rise in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon too, placing nutritious food far out of reach for the most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, recurrent extreme weather, particularly in the Central Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and Central African Republic erodes the ability of families to feed themselves. In 2024 alone, floods affected over six million people across the region.
WFP stands ready to respond and scale up vital assistance
WFP aims to reach almost 12 million women, men, girls and boys in West Africa and the Sahel with critical assistance and nutritional support this year to help the most vulnerable withstand hunger shocks when they inevitably occur.
In 2025, WFP has already reached three million of the most vulnerable with life-saving assistance – including refugees, internally displaced persons, malnourished children under five, and pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls.
While humanitarian needs are at a historical high, resources to mount an effective response at scale are not keeping pace.
“We are at a tipping point and millions of lives are at stake.,” warned Margot van der Velden, WFP’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Without immediate funding, WFP will be forced to scale down even further both in the number of people reached and the size of food rations distributed. The consequences are devastating, communities already in crisis, many have been forced to sell their last assets and skip meals, risking long-term effects to their health and life.”
Today, WFP warns that five million people risk losing assistance altogether unless urgent funding is received.
Between June and August 2024, funding shortfalls forced WFP to assist only 7.3 million people in the Sahel – just 60 percent of the organization’s intended target – with many receiving reduced rations.
Insufficient funding also threatens the WFP-managed UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) operations from providing emergency support to the humanitarian community in Mali and Nigeria. UNHAS provides essential aviation services and logistics support to ensure frontline aid workers and life-saving supplies can reach those most in need.
WFP urgently requires US$ 710 million to continue life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable in the region for the next six months (May-October 2025).
Ending generational hunger cycles must address root causes
Beyond emergency food assistance, WFP is urging governments and partners to invest in sustainable solutions aimed at building resilience and reducing long-term dependency on aid.
Since 2018, WFP has been working with governments across the Sahel to address the root causes of hunger through its successful integrated Resilience Program – rehabilitating over 300,000 hectares of land to support over four million people in more than 3,400 villages.
“By leading the way and investing in early actions, and restoring ecosystems, we can protect vulnerable communities, save lives, reduce future humanitarian needs, and safeguard resilience gains across the Sahel,” added van der Velden. “We know what works. We urge the international community to collectively enhance investments in building back ecosystems and strengthening local economies for communities to thrive; it costs little and prevents crises.”
WFP remains committed to working closely with national authorities, regional bodies, and humanitarian partners to ensure timely, targeted, and safe assistance reaches those most in need.
