World Food Programme Warns Cameroon Faces Catastrophic Hunger Without Funding

The U.N. World Food Programme issued an urgent appeal on December 5, 2025, saying parts of Cameroon will confront catastrophic hunger unless at least $67 million in new funding is delivered immediately. The agency said recent progress in feeding internally displaced people and conflict affected communities is under threat, and that financial shortfalls would force cuts to food rations and life saving nutrition programs in the worst affected areas.

Cameroon’s humanitarian crisis reflects layers of insecurity. In the north, attacks and instability linked to Boko Haram and affiliated groups have disrupted livelihoods and humanitarian access. In the country’s Anglophone regions, long running separatist violence has displaced communities and eroded markets and health services. At the same time, an influx of refugees from the Central African Republic has increased demand on already overstretched food and assistance systems. The WFP warned that without prompt donor contributions, these combined pressures could deepen malnutrition and trigger famine like conditions in pockets of the country.

Humanitarian responders say the situation illustrates the complex interplay between conflict dynamics, population displacement, and food insecurity. Efforts by the WFP and partners have kept millions fed in recent months, but agencies operate on tight budgets and rely on predictable donor support to maintain operations. The agency’s plea for at least $67 million is framed as a race against the seasonal break in harvests and the mounting needs of families who have exhausted coping mechanisms.

The potential collapse of feeding programs would have immediate human consequences and broader regional implications. Food insecurity can exacerbate tensions, drive further displacement, and increase cross border flows, placing pressure on neighboring states and humanitarian systems across central Africa. For countries hosting refugees, the strain on services and local markets can compound existing social and economic fragilities.

The appeal also raises questions of humanitarian access and the responsibility of parties to armed conflict. International humanitarian law obliges parties to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, and attacks or obstructions that impede life saving assistance can deepen the emergency. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that when security, bureaucratic barriers, or funding gaps converge, the most vulnerable are left without essential food and medical care.

Donors face multiple competing global crises, yet humanitarian planners emphasize that targeted, timely funding can prevent far greater human and fiscal costs later. Investing in sustained food assistance and nutrition programs now is meant to protect gains in child health and community resilience, and to prevent a slide into large scale famine classification which carries devastating human and political consequences.

The WFP appeal puts the spotlight on a country where humanitarian needs have run parallel to complex political and security challenges. With the agency’s warning issued today, the immediate test is whether the international community will translate concern into the rapid funding needed to avert a deeper catastrophe.