The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has shut down a critical air service in Nigeria’s northeast, citing severe funding shortages that threaten to deepen one of Africa’s most protracted humanitarian emergencies.
The U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), run by the World Food Programme (WFP), ended its fixed-wing operations in the country last week after nearly a decade of flying aid workers and supplies into conflict zones.
The closure, announced by U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in New York on Wednesday, was attributed to the growing strain on relief efforts as donor funding wanes.
“In 2024, UNHAS fixed-wing flights carried more than 9,000 passengers. Already this year, 4,500 humanitarian staff have relied on the service to reach affected areas.
“UNHAS cannot continue without funding: $5.4 million is needed to remain operational for the next six months. Without this funding, the humanitarian response in north-east Nigeria risks being cut off from the very people it is meant to serve.
“For nine years, the service has transported humanitarian staff, medical supplies, and critical cargo to and from the epicenter of the crisis in Borno and Yobe states
“In a country that has experienced 16 years of conflict, where road transport remains extremely dangerous, air transport is essential.” UN Spokesperson Dujarric told reporters
Margot van der Velden, WFP’s regional director for West and Central Africa, told reporters in New York that the agency urgently requires $5.4million to sustain food and nutrition operations in the region for just six months.
The shutdown comes as WFP itself faces dire financial shortfalls. In July, the agency warned it might be forced to suspend emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in northeastern Nigeria. That grim scenario is inching closer to reality.