According to the UN, 7.8 million people also need help in the North-Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. The organisation said it aims to help 3.8 million residents.
The states were hit by devastating flooding last year as the governments solicited assistance.
Speaking at the launch of the 2025 Nigeria Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) in Abuja on Wednesday, Mohamed Malick Fall, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, explained that the needs are “driven by conflict, climate shocks, and economic instability.”
Mr Fall, joined by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, also said the needs were compounded by the effects of flooding, disease outbreaks, food insecurity, malnutrition and deepening vulnerabilities.
On his part, Mr Yilwatda highlighted the growing humanitarian needs in North-West and North-Central Nigeria, soliciting combined humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding efforts for the region.
Mr Yilwatda said the restructured Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction was committed to timely, effective life-saving humanitarian responses and poverty reduction.
“This will enable us to get humanitarian efforts translated into durable solutions that can move people out of poverty and provide livelihoods to reach sustainable development.
“We will continue to coordinate interventions at all levels, ensuring they align with national humanitarian and poverty-reduction priorities,” the minister added.
Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe states expressed their commitments with the UN and partners to address pressing humanitarian needs and foster sustainable development.
The UN had previously claimed that Nigeria’s North-East risks becoming a forgotten crisis as the humanitarian focus shifted to crises elsewhere, such as Ukraine and Gaza.
Amid the crisis, Nigeria is currently grappling with a high cost of living conditions that have seen inflation shoot up to its highest level in nearly three decades, with the prices of foods and services rising astronomically.
Already, the UN has said 33 million Nigerians would face acute food insecurity during the lean season of the year 2025, with alarming levels of malnutrition threatening millions of children.
It added that 5.1 million people will be affected in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.
