Food Insecurity: EU Says Its Humanitarian Assistance To Nigeria Has Not Been Cut Down

By Bukar BOLORI

The European Union (EU) has put a lie to the claim by Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that Northern Nigeria is witnessing alarming malnutrition crisis due to shrinking funding from international donor agencies.

The Country Representative of MSF in Nigeria, Ahmed Aldikhari was quoted in a statement issued last week by MSF, to have said: “The year 2024 marked a turning point in northern Nigeria’s nutritional crisis, with an increase of 25 percent from the previous year,” he added that:

“But the true scale of the crisis exceeds all predictions. We are currently witnessing massive budget cuts, particularly from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, which are having a real impact on the treatment of malnourished children.”

A statement on Monday by EU read: “Following a press release published on 25 July by the non-governmental organisation MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), mentioning alleged “massive cuts” by the European Union (EU), among other international donors, in the response to the nutrition insecurity in Nigeria, the EU Delegation in Nigeria would like to communicate that this information is unsubstantiated and inaccurate, as the level of EU humanitarian support granted by the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Office ECHO in Nigeria in the first half of 2025 has in fact been similar to the one provided in the first half of 2024 and, as done in previous years, the EU is working to increase the amount with additional top ups.”

The statement added that: “Like in 2024, a significant part of ECHO assistance in Nigeria focuses on nutrition, health and food assistance emergency.”

The statement however, stressed that: “The EU Delegation takes note of the revised version of the press release published today by MSF, which eliminates the mention of the European Union when speaking of massive cuts by international donors. While commending the work performed by MSF teams, partly through EU funding, to help malnourished children and their mothers in Nigeria, as witnessed by the EU Ambassador during his recent visit to Sokoto State on 19-20 July, the EU Delegation underlines the importance of communicating verified and accurate information on this matter of utmost importance for the Nigerian people.

“It reiterates the call launched by the EU Ambassador, during his 22 July joint press conference with the Honourable Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction as well as humanitarian partners to urgently enhance resources from domestic and international sources to address the emergency nutrition situation particularly in North-West and North-East Nigeria.

“The EU Delegation wishes once more to highlight that the EU is keeping its financial commitments and its general level of support across the board in the framework of its partnership with Nigeria.”