US pledges $32.5 million in aid to Nigeria amid deepening crisis

The United States has announced a relief package worth $32.5 million for Nigeria, marking a rare departure from its recent foreign aid stance, the Associated Press reported on September 4. 

Under the presidency of Donald Trump, a significant amount of assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development had been halted, but this new support will target hunger and malnutrition in the country.

A statement by the U.S mission to Nigeria released on September 3 explains that the funding will provide food assistance and nutritional support to internally displaced people in conflict-affected areas. This comes after reports of northern Nigeria facing what humanitarian officials describe as an unparalleled hunger emergency, which is expected to persist.

Margot van der Velden, regional director for West Africa at the World Food Programme, warned in July that more than 1.3 million people were at risk of going without food. She also cautioned that 150 nutrition centres in Borno State could be forced to shut down without urgent funding.

The World Food Programme had already halted food distributions in July across several crisis-stricken nations in West and Central Africa. That decision followed major reductions in aid from the United States and other donors, leaving the organisation struggling to continue operations. Earlier this year, the WFP appealed to Washington to reverse the cuts, warning in a social media post that “this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation.”

The U.S. mission stated that its latest contribution would reach more than 764,000 people across Nigeria’s north-east and north-west.

“This includes complementary nutrition top-ups for 41,569 pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls and 43,235 children through electronic food vouchers,” the mission said.

Reported by Maghrebi, the United Nations has warned that childbirth in north-east Nigeria has become increasingly dangerous, with women facing some of the highest risks in the world. The collapse of health services in many conflict-affected areas has worsened maternal outcomes, adding to the humanitarian crisis.

Alongside U.S. support, other international partners are also moving to strengthen Nigeria’s food systems. British International Investment has committed $7.5 million to Babban Gona, an agricultural enterprise working with smallholder farmers in the north. The investment is aimed at improving food security and building climate resilience for communities that rely on farming for their survival.

Areas in north-western and north-central Nigeria have faced repeated attacks in recent months. Violence has intensified, with at least 27 worshippers killed and several others injured when armed bandits stormed a mosque in Katsina state during morning prayers in August.

According to United Nations figures, the insurgency in the north-east has killed an estimated 35,000 civilians and forced over two million people from their homes.

Associated Press, Maghrebi.org, British International Investment, Reuters, ReliefWeb