Fatima Mohammed once aspired to be a doctor.
The 24-year-old mother from Nigeria's Borno State recalls how her family had enough food and stability before violence forced them to flee.
With no stable income or farmland, Fatima’s family faced severe food insecurity, her two daughters becoming critically ill with severe acute malnutrition and anaemia. At an IRC-run stabilization centre supported by the OCHA-managed Nigeria Humanitarian Fund, they received life-saving treatment and recovered.
“Their appetite came back, they stopped vomiting, and they started playing again,” Fatima says. “I’m so grateful for the support we received, it gave my children a second chance.”
With limited livelihood opportunities, they now rely on humanitarian assistance to survive.
In north-east Nigeria, families like Fatima's are being pushed to the brink as conflict, floods, and severe funding cuts deepen food and nutrition insecurity.
Read Fatima’s full story that highlights the human cost of funding cuts, the impact on the most vulnerable children, and why sustained humanitarian support is urgently needed for millions of families across north-east Nigeria: https://unocha.exposure.co/we-used-to-have-more-than-enough
Posted November 2025.
Pooled Fund impact stories.
More information on the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund
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