UN Suspends Air Service In Nigeria Over Poor Funding

The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has halted its fixed-wing operations in Nigeria due to a severe lack of funding, raising concerns about aid delivery to conflict-hit communities in the northeast. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the development during a press briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York, noting that the service, operated by the World Food Programme (WFP), ended last week after nine years of operations.

“For nearly a decade, UNHAS has transported humanitarian staff, medical supplies, and critical cargo to and from the epicentre of the crisis in Borno and Yobe states,” Dujarric said. “In a country scarred by 16 years of conflict, where road travel remains dangerous, air transport has been essential.”

The WFP warned in July that dwindling resources could force it to suspend food and nutrition assistance for 1.3 million people in the northeast. WFP’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Margot van der Velden, said the agency urgently requires $130 million to sustain emergency operations for the next six months.

“Due to the severe funding cuts facing the World Food Programme, we have exhausted our food and nutrition resources,” Velden told UN correspondents in New York. “By early August, we will face the heartbreaking reality of suspending operations—not because there is no need, but because there are no resources.”

She cautioned that millions of vulnerable Nigerians could face worsening hunger, displacement, or exploitation by extremist groups if aid is cut off. Despite the challenges, Velden commended the Nigerian government, describing it as the largest financier of emergency response in the northeast.

UNHAS flights transported more than 9,000 passengers in 2024 and had already moved 4,500 humanitarian staff this year. According to Dujarric, $5.4 million is needed to keep the service running for the next six months.

“Without this funding, the humanitarian response in northeast Nigeria risks being cut off from the very people it is meant to serve,” he warned.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}