(Ecofin Agency) - Food aid provided by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to the Northeast region, where about 4.7 million refugees from Boko Haram conflict are, might be cut. This was revealed by reliable sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reports.

“With the money they have right now, and if they won’t cut rations, they can go only to May 18,” said one of the sources who asked not to be named.

In response to critics regarding to their slow action, a WFP spokeswoman said: “All humanitarian crises globally are woefully underfunded and for WFP Nigeria is in one of the worst situations for funding. We are trying to save lives. We need over the next six months $207 million for Nigeria. At the moment the programme is 13 percent funded for 2017. It's extremely low. Of the four countries facing famine it is the least funded”.

In regards to this, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja said “there is no adequate funding to sustain the global response to those needs”. It therefore urged for additional resources to be mobilized to insure that feeding continues in northeastern Nigeria.

The conflict with Boko Haram which began in 2009 killed more than 20,000 people and displaced more than 2 million.