President Donald J. Trump tweeted about the slow beginning of his intention to cancel overseas development aid (ODA). Although the administration’s policies were not unexpected to leave multilateralism, given the promises made during the campaign, the suddenness of enforcement was caught by many surprises. On January 20, 2025, the shockwave could not be denied, but the US President (US) issued an executive order separating the United States from the World Health Organization (WH).
In places like Nigeria, where donor funds have long been a vulnerable lifeline, the ground itself felt like it had changed. For the more than 28,000 healthcare workers paid through US support, it was more than a loss of income, but it was a survival issue for millions of children in conflict-affected states and other struggling communities, such as Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. For many vulnerable groups, US funding was more than just support. That was the difference between their life and death.
Faced with this challenge, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare in Nigeria, is seeking a paradigm shift in healthcare, underscoring the need to move away from donor-led models and invest in local capabilities, particularly for nutrition.
Nigeria faces important nutritional challenges, along with the second highest number of stunting children worldwide. Nevertheless, steady progress has been made over the past decade through joint efforts, including international partnerships, donor support, and initiatives such as the Nigerian Nutrition International and the USAID Advanced Nutrition Project.
USAID Advancing Nutrition previously worked with future implementation partners who provide technical assistance and training in areas such as agricultural expansion and advisory services activities, agribusiness investment activities, and rural resilience.
However, earthquake changes in the landscape are now threatening to unravel these hard-working benefits.
Today, thousands of children, especially in Sokoto and other regions in the northwest region, are at risk of starvation, as emergency feeding centres run out of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs). Crossing the northeast, early warnings predict a catastrophic surge in severe acute malnutrition among children.
Public interest in the nutritional situation in Nigeria has skyrocketed across the country between January and April 2025, with concerns centred in northern states such as Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Adamawa and Sokoto.
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Your lifeline will be shorter
The incredible reductions in humanitarian funding bring more than logistical challenges. It directly affects the nutritional well-being of millions. The predicted cuts in World Food Program (WFP) rations represent a catastrophe for families already on the brink of starvation.
As recent analysis has rigorously predicted, this funding vacuum leaves 1 million children without proper nutrition that inevitably spikes the malnutrition rate, especially among children in Nigeria. It is estimated that 52.7 million women, men and children, which account for 20% of the population, will face acute hunger from June to August 2025.
Food distribution networks are also unstable, breaching critical medical support and reducing educational programs, which are essential for long-term development.
Redefine the future:
At this critical moment, Nigeria needs to seize the opportunity to diagram new courses towards independence.
Strengthening local capacity, investing in home countries’ solutions, and fostering public-private partnerships are no longer options, they are essentials. Governments, the private sector and civil society must work together to create sustainable nutrition programs, ensure local production of therapeutic foods, and create resilient systems that protect the most vulnerable in the country.
This is not just a time for reflection. It is a time of urgent and decisive action to ensure Nigeria’s future and not guarantee that she will die from malnutrition.
