Introduction
In 2025, increasing violence and forced displacement have affected millions of Nigerians, displaced 4 million of them and killed more than 4,000 civilians.
Food security and malnutrition are widespread with over 27 million people facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity and 3.5 million children across Nigeria are severely malnourished.
In North-East Nigeria, 7.8 million people require humanitarian aid amidst a deteriorating security situation.
The EU remains steadfast in its commitment, channelling significant resources into humanitarian aid for vulnerable people affected by conflict, food scarcity and malnutrition in Nigeria.
3.5 million childrenface severe acute malnutrition (UNICEF)
4 million displaced Nigerians and 3.5 million internally displacedover 400,000 Nigerian refugees in Chad, Niger, Cameroon
What are the needs?
Due to the hostilities and access constraints, aid workers cannot reach an estimated 1 million people in the North-East. These issues hinder the delivery of life-saving assistance, which is crucial in view of the alarming levels of food insecurity.
Nigeria faces diverse and complex challenges, such as:
- insurgencies in the North-East
- escalating banditry and kidnappings by criminal and armed groups in the North-West
- enduring intercommunity clashes and violent attacks in the North central region
- natural disaster like floods and the impact of climate change.
Food and nutrition crisis
The October 2025 Cadre Harmonisé analysis reveals a significant food and nutrition crisis in Nigeria: 27.2 million people face acute food shortages, expected to rise to 34.7 million by mid-2026.
Of the 3.5 million children facing severe acute malnutrition, 65% live in just 6 northern states: Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina
Displaced people
Of the 4 million displaced across the country, 63% has been so for 5 years or more.
In the North-East, 15 years of conflict between non-state armed groups and government forces in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe have resulted in 2.3 million internally displaced people and over 400,000 in neighbouring countries, primarily residing in congested camps with inadequate support.
The North-East suffers from ravaged social infrastructure and the conflict directly killed more than 12,000 civilians over the past 4 years (source ACLED). Civilian casualties have intensified with more than 3,600 deaths reported in 2025, which makes it the highest number of civilian deaths per year for the last 10 years. Violence has led to violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
The North-West is also plagued by growing insecurity that has led to alarming levels of food insecurity, malnutrition and over 700,000 displaced.
Additionally, Nigeria’s Northcentral region regularly undergoes violent attacks by armed groups especially in rural areas, further exacerbated by natural disasters and weak access to essential services. This results into over 600,000 persons in a situation of prolonged displacements.
Safety for aid workers
Humanitarian workers, local responders in particular, continue risking their lives to deliver aid. Nigeria saw a significant increase in all types of aid worker victims - killed, injured, kidnapped - from 2023 to 2024, according to the Aid Worker Security Report.
How are we helping?
The EU is one of the leading contributors of humanitarian aid to people in need in Nigeria. In 2025, the EU allocated €46.5 million for humanitarian assistance, bringing the total since 2014 to over €544 million.
EU humanitarian aid in Nigeria helps to meet the basic needs of the conflict-affected people by supporting emergency food aid, nutrition support, shelter, access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene, primary healthcare, protection and education.
The EU’s multifaceted response includes:
Food assistance
Direct relief through cash transfers, vouchers, food rations, and agricultural support to help sustain internally displaced and host communities. Emergency distributions aim to stabilise food availability amid crises.
Nutrition support
Nutrition care, ready-to-use therapeutic foods and essential medicines to treat children who suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition. The EU helps ensure continued procurement and delivery of therapeutic supplies, preventing stockouts amidst supply chain delays.
Healthcare access
Support to health services, including emergency medical supplies and stabilisation centres, to cope with peaks in malnutrition and infectious diseases, especially in overwhelmed under-resourced facilities.
Protection and education
Psychosocial support and referral services to unaccompanied children and victims of gender-based violence through community-based services. Education in emergencies projects ensure crisis-affected children get a basic education and essential school supplies.
Access and logistics
Support to coordination and to the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) and IOM run humanitarian hubs to help aid workers reach and work in isolated areas in a timely and safe manner.
Preparedness and resilience building
Projects to improve preparedness in disaster-prone areas aim vulnerable people to better prepare for recurrent shocks, such as epidemics and floods, reduce the impact of such recurring events on their lives. Communities receive essential information about risks and prevention, strengthening the local response through planning and preventive action.
Through its holistic approach, the EU aims to foster resilience in the face of recurrent crises, bridging immediate humanitarian needs with long-term development strategies. This includes amplifying advocacy, promoting synergies between humanitarian aid and development cooperation, and engaging governmental authorities to ensure sustainable humanitarian outcomes.
Through its development assistance, the EU aims to build long-term resilience in conflict-affected communities by addressing the underlying causes of violent conflict, supporting basic services and helping people to support themselves.