THE UNITED Nations has called for increased humanitarian funding and stronger protection for aid workers as millions of people in Nigeria continue to face worsening food insecurity, malnutrition, disease outbreaks and other humanitarian challenges.
The appeal was made by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, to mark World Humanitarian Day.
Fall, alongside members of the United Nations and Humanitarian Country Teams, visited nutrition and cholera treatment centres in Maiduguri, Borno State, where they met government health workers, humanitarian personnel, caregivers and patients.
The delegation observed first-hand the humanitarian response in Nigeria’s northeast, which reached nearly 900,000 people in the first half of 2026 despite declining funding for humanitarian operations.
“Today, at the treatment centres we visited, I met humanitarian workers who continue to serve communities with extraordinary courage, dedication and compassion despite difficult and often dangerous conditions,” Fall said.
He called for greater protection for humanitarian personnel, stressing that aid workers must be able to carry out their duties safely.
The United Nations coordinator also highlighted the joint response by government authorities, health workers and humanitarian organisations to the cholera outbreak in Borno State.
According to Fall, more than 55,000 cholera patients have been treated through the combined response, while hygiene promotion services have reached more than one million people.
He added that humanitarian and government partners had chlorinated more than 500 water points, helping communities gain access to safer drinking water.
The measures, he said, had contributed to reducing the cholera case fatality rate to below emergency levels.
“Together, the Government, health workers and humanitarian partners have treated more than 55,000 cholera patients, providing hygiene promotion services to over 1 million people and chlorinating in excess of 500 water points giving communities access to safe drinking water,” Fall said.
Despite the progress, the United Nations warned that humanitarian needs continue to outpace available resources.
Through the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund and the Central Emergency Response Fund, $135.5 million has so far been allocated in 2026 to address humanitarian emergencies in the country.
However, Nigeria’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan still faces a $159 million funding shortfall for the remainder of the year.
The United Nations said the funding gap could leave hundreds of thousands of people without life-saving assistance at a time when needs are increasing, particularly during the lean and rainy seasons.
Fall expressed appreciation to donors supporting humanitarian operations but said significantly more international and domestic resources were needed.
“We are deeply grateful to donors whose contributions through our pooled funds and bilaterally to aid organizations are helping save lives during this critical period. However, needs continue to rise faster than available resources,” he said.
He noted that humanitarian funding globally, including for Nigeria, had fallen sharply compared with previous years, making additional support increasingly important.
The UN official also stressed the need for Nigeria to strengthen its transition towards a nationally led humanitarian system.
The process involves international and national organisations working together to increase national leadership and local ownership of humanitarian action.
According to Fall, the transition presents an opportunity for Nigeria to strengthen its own humanitarian institutions and local organisations, but it must be adequately funded and carefully managed.
“Nigeria’s evolution towards a nationally led humanitarian system is both necessary and an enormous opportunity for the country to do things differently,” he said.
He called for greater investment in national institutions and local organisations already responding to humanitarian needs, while stressing the importance of domestic resource mobilisation in the face of a challenging global donor environment.
Fall’s World Humanitarian Day message also focused strongly on the safety of humanitarian workers and respect for international humanitarian law.
He urged all parties to protect aid workers, hospitals, treatment centres, relief supplies, assistance convoys and civilian infrastructure.
“Humanitarian workers are not targets,” he said, calling for international humanitarian law to be respected “by all parties, at all times.”
He warned that restrictions or insecurity preventing humanitarian personnel from reaching affected communities ultimately harm the people who depend on assistance.
“When humanitarian workers cannot safely reach communities with assistance, it is vulnerable women, men and children who suffer the consequences,” Fall said.
As humanitarian needs continue to grow, he urged governments, donors, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders to work together to support affected communities and humanitarian personnel.
He said the figures surrounding Nigeria’s humanitarian situation represented real people and families struggling to survive.
“Behind every statistic is a family struggling to survive, a child battling malnutrition, a mother seeking treatment for cholera, or a community trying to rebuild after years of crisis,” Fall said.
He called on stakeholders to reaffirm their shared responsibility to protect vulnerable people and those working to assist them, urging Nigerians and the international community to “#ActForHumanity.”
