Nigeria: Malnutrition

Humanitarian organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has warned of rising child deaths as malnutrition crisis worsen in Northern Nigeria.

MSF, in a statement said in Katsina State, where it has been operating since 2021, the number of severely malnourished children is surging, adding that 652 children have died in its facilities since January 2025 due to delays in accessing lifesaving care.

The organisation said it has already treated nearly 70,000 malnourished children this year, including almost 10,000 who required hospitalisation.

MSF teams report that cases of nutritional oedema, one of the deadliest forms of malnutrition, have risen by 208 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

The crisis is spreading beyond children, with adults, particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women, now severely affected. A recent screening across five MSF-supported centers in Katsina found that more than half of the mothers bringing their children for treatment were also acutely malnourished, the statement revealed.

In response, MSF said it has expanded its operations, opening a new ambulatory therapeutic feeding center (ATFC) in Mashi and an inpatient therapeutic feeding center (ITFC) in Turai, bringing the total bed capacity across two hospitals to 900.

The organisation said it is also working with local authorities to distribute nutritional supplements to 66,000 children in Mashi.

MSF’s country representative in Nigeria, Ahmed Aldikhari, emphasised the urgency of the situation. “The year 2024 marked a turning point in northern Nigeria’s nutritional crisis, but what we’re seeing now exceeds all predictions. Budget cuts from major donors like the U.S., U.K., and the EU are having devastating effects on treatment efforts.”

Earlier this week, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced plans to halt emergency food and nutrition support for 1.3 million people in Northeast Nigeria by the end of July due to critical funding shortfalls, further compounding the crisis.

Even though food remains available in some markets, growing poverty means that many families simply cannot afford it. A recent food security survey in Kaita, Katsina State, evealed that over 90 perc ent of households had reduced the number of meals they consume daily.

MSF nutrition expert, Emmanuel Berbain stressed that large-scale food distributions, cash transfers, and improved access to ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) are vital. “The most urgent way to reduce the risk of immediate death from malnutrition is to ensure families have access to food,” he said.

The crisis is fueled by compounding factors including low vaccine coverage, limited access to healthcare, economic hardship, and persistent insecurity.

Vice President Kashim Shettima recently described malnutrition as a “national emergency,” warning that nearly 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five are being deprived of their full physical and cognitive potential due to undernutrition.

MSF said it treated over 300,000 malnourished children in seven northern states in 2024, a 25 per cent increase from the previous year. In the Northwest alone, the organisation said it has already treated nearly 100,000 children for moderate and severe acute malnutrition in the first six months of 2025, and hospitalised approximately 25,000.

MSF urges the government, international donors, and humanitarian agencies to urgently scale up both prevention and treatment interventions to avert even greater loss of life in the months ahead.