DAKAR, March 7 (Reuters) – The United Nations World Food Programme said on Friday it would halt food and nutrition assistance to more than 2 million people in Nigeria and the Central Sahel region next month without urgent funding to bridge shortfalls.

The U.N. food agency (WFP) said in a statement it required $620 million to continue supporting refugees in Chad and Mali and food-insecure people in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.

“The global shrinkage of foreign aid is posing a significant threat to our operations in Western Africa,” said WFP Regional Director Margot van der Velden.

The funding squeeze comes as the lean season – the period in between harvests when hunger peaks – is expected to hit earlier than usual across West Africa’s Sahel region south of the Sahara.

“With millions expected to face emergency levels of hunger at the peak of the lean season, the world must step up support to prevent this situation from getting out of control.”

Conflict, displacement, economic crises, and climate shocks such as devastating floods last year are driving a hunger crisis in West Africa.

An estimated 52.7 million women, men, and children are projected to experience acute hunger between June and August 2025, the WFP said. These include refugees in Chad, Mali, and Mauritania, of which around 700,000 are Sudanese refugees.

The proportion of the population facing extreme hunger in West and Central Africa is also projected to rise over 20% by June 2025.

The WFP receives half of its funding from the United States, which has been reviewing and cutting foreign aid programs.

The statement did not specify whether the lack of funding was linked to the U.S. It said West and Central Africa remained “chronically underfunded”.

(Reporting by Ayen Deng Bior; Editing by Sofia Christensen)