Connect with us

National News

Nigeria: Hunger, Malnutrition and large scale health conditions hits northeast, northwest Children – MSF

Published

on

Nigeria: Hunger, Malnutrition and large scale health conditions hits northeast, northwest Children – MSF

By: James Bwala

The unprecedented numbers of malnourished children in need of lifesaving treatment are being brought to therapeutic feeding centres run by the international medical organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno state, in northeast Nigeria.

MSF is warning of an impending catastrophe if immediate action is not taken.

A statement from MSF on Friday said, the number of admissions since the start of 2023 is the highest ever recorded by MSF teams in Borno state for the period preceding the annual ‘hunger gap’, when food stocks from the previous harvest traditionally run out and malnutrition levels peak.

“The massive increase in malnourished children calls for malnutrition prevention and treatment activities to be scaled up immediately to avoid a catastrophic situation when the hunger gap arrives,” says MSF medical coordinator Htet Aung Kyi.

The team at MSF’s Nilefa Kiji therapeutic feeding centre in Maiduguri have seen a surge in admissions for both moderate and severe acute malnutrition.

In January, around 75 children were admitted every week for severe malnutrition – around three times the average for the same period in the past five years. By early April, the weekly figure had risen to close to 150, twice that of the same time last year.

“We have not seen anything like this since we started running malnutrition activities here in 2017,” says Htet Aung Kyi. “The number of weekly admissions is two to three times higher than at the same period over the past five years – and it’s still rising. Last year, we sounded the alarm in June when admissions skyrocketed at the start of the hunger gap but this year, we are already seeing alarming numbers while we are still weeks away from the pre-harvest shortage period. The clock is ticking for action if we want to avoid a catastrophe. Immediate action is required”

Malnutrition is not new in Maiduguri, where years of conflict and insecurity have caused a critical humanitarian situation. Many people have been displaced from their homes and now live in precarious conditions in informal sites, with host communities, or in transit through detention camps.

The number of patients treated by MSF for severe malnutrition exploded in 2022, with over 8,000 children hospitalized for intensive nutrition care.

“One in seven was coming from the Hajj detention camp for former members of armed opposition groups, their families and those who lived under their control. Many arrived in this camp in an already precarious state of health which further worsened due to the harsh living conditions in this transit camp.

“Late 2021 saw the closure of official camps for displaced people and cuts to humanitarian aid and food aid. For most people, living conditions are extremely harsh, while some face restrictions on their movements, preventing them from earning a living or growing crops.

” People’s vulnerability increased. More recently, people’s vulnerability further increased due to the redesign of the Nigerian currency in late 2022, which led to a shortage of cash, and the recent destruction of big markets in Maiduguri.” The statement said.

MSF teams are providing inpatient and outpatient treatment for malnourished children and providing targeted feeding for children with moderate malnutrition to prevent their condition deteriorating. MSF mobile teams also run clinics providing basic healthcare to people living in Hajj camp and Muna and Maisandari informal sites.

“Food aid alone will not be enough,” says Gabriele Santi, MSF project coordinator in Maiduguri. “Authorities and aid organisations need to immediately ramp up malnutrition-related activities and increase bed capacity in intensive therapeutic feedings centres, but they also need to improve living conditions in transit camps and expand people’s access to healthcare.

“This must be backed by a swift scale-up of donor funding and a strong coordination of these funds to make sure that food reaches those most in need. At this stage, only 16% of the funds requested by nutrition cluster have been secured. This is alarming as well.

”From early January to 20 April 2023, 1,283 malnourished children were admitted for intensive hospital care at the MSF feeding centre – about 120% per cent more than from the same period last year.” The statement said

It was gathered that next to this nutrition emergency in Maiduguri, is the large-scale health and malnutrition crises elsewhere in northwest Nigeria.

Working in 32 outpatient therapeutic feeding centres and 10 inpatient therapeutic feeding centres in Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states, MSF last year treated 147,860 children with severe acute malnutrition across northwest Nigeria.

Nigeria: Hunger, Malnutrition and large scale health conditions hits northeast, northwest Children – MSF

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

National News

EU Declares Nigeria Matters to Us

Published

on

EU Declares Nigeria Matters to Us

… Reiterates Commitment to Strengthen Long Standing Partnership

By: Michael Mike

The Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, David MacAllister on Monday declared the importance of Nigeria to the bloc, stating that Nigeria “matters” to us.

He also reiterated the bloc’s commitment to strengthening its long-standing partnership with Africa’s largest democracy, Nigeria.

MacAllister, who led a six-member European Parliament delegation on an official visit to Nigeria on Monday, after a meeting with the Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar disclosed that their mission to Nigeria was designed to deepen mutual understanding, explore new areas of collaboration, and reinforce political and economic ties between both sides.

He said: “We are a delegation of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, We are six members in total from five different countries, from three different political groups in the European Parliament. And this shows a cross-party interest in further deepening and strengthening the relations between the European Union and Nigeria.”

MacAllister while describing Nigeria as a strategic partner whose influence on the continent and beyond makes it an indispensable ally in shaping Africa–EU relations, said: “Nigeria is considered as a strategic partner for the European Union. “We have a long-lasting, good and close relationship based on shared values and also on joint interests.”

He noted that the visit was part of the Parliament’s tradition of engaging directly with partner nations to better understand their challenges and opportunities.

He said: “The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee travels with smaller delegations a few times a year to other parts of the world,” adding that: “We mainly travel to get to know better the countries, to understand better the challenges these countries are facing, and also the opportunities these countries have. And we are also there to very carefully listen.”

MacAllister while expressing appreciation to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for hosting the delegation, noted that their discussion was insightful and covered a broad range of regional and global issues.

He said: “It was a great honour for us to be received by the Honourable Minister. His Excellency took more than one and a half hours of his precious time to really go into detail with many, many questions we had as regards the further development of the African Union, the further development of ECOWAS, and the developments in all neighbouring countries of Nigeria.”

He said the dialogue also reflected a shared interest in understanding the trajectories of both regions, stating that: “The Minister was also very interested in finding out how the further developments of the European Union will look like.”

He said: “Because just like Nigeria, just like ECOWAS, we in the European Union, of course, are also facing enormous challenges.”

He reaffirmed that Nigeria remains a vital partner in Europe’s engagement with Africa, stating that: “To sum up in one sentence — Nigeria matters. Nigeria matters for us in the European Union, and we in the European

Parliament are very keen to deepen the strategic partnership with Nigeria. And this will be our message when we go back home to Brussels.”

Responding, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, welcomed the lawmakers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, describing the European Union as a critical partner in trade, security, and development.

He said: “Any visit from the European Union has to be considered very important because Europe still remains our largest trading partner,” adding that: “Figures may vary, but it is not less than 31.8 billion euros.”

He described Europe and Africa as “natural neighbours,” emphasizing that geography should unite rather than separate the two continents.

He said: “For those who understand a bit of Latin, ‘Mediterranean’ means ‘water in the middle of land. So where Europe is concerned in its relations to Africa, what we have is water in the middle of land—we are closer than we imagine.”

He noted that Nigeria’s partnership with the EU extends beyond trade, touching on regional stability, food security, and job creation.

Tuggar said: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emphasizes food security as his number one priority because we are a nation of 230 million people, expected to become 400 million by 2050. We are in a race against time to create jobs, feed our people, and ensure our population is healthy.”

He added that Nigeria’s recent inclusion as the 77th shareholder of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reflects its commitment to global economic cooperation.

He saud: “We have a lot of lessons to learn from the European Union, which itself is still integrating. It gives us hope and serves as a model that we seek to emulate. We will continue to strengthen our collaboration with the EU in all areas.”

Other members of the European Parliament delegation included Christophe Thomas (France), Jaliana Lefebvre (Croatia), Marta Emigo (Portugal), and Tim Kenan (Finland).

EU Declares Nigeria Matters to Us

Continue Reading

National News

PRESIDENT TINUBU CHANGES SERVICE CHIEFS

Published

on

PRESIDENT TINUBU CHANGES SERVICE CHIEFS

By: Our Reporter

President Bola Tinubu has made changes in the hierarchy of the Service Chiefs in furtherance of the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen the national security architecture.

The President appointed General Olufemi Oluyede to replace General Christopher Musa as the new Chief of Defence Staff. The new Chief of Army Staff is Major-General W. Shaibu. Air Vice Marshall S.K Aneke is Chief of Air Staff while Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff.

Chief of Defence Intelligence Major-General E.A.P Undiendeye retains his position.

The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, expresses most profound appreciation to the outgoing Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa and the other Service Chiefs for their patriotic service, and dedicated leadership.

The President charges the newly appointed Service Chiefs to justify the confidence reposed in them to further enhance the professionalism, vigilance and comradeship that define the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

All appointments take immediate effect.

PRESIDENT TINUBU CHANGES SERVICE CHIEFS

Continue Reading

National News

Nigeria-Germany Trade Volume Hits €3 billion – Envoy

Published

on

Nigeria-Germany Trade Volume Hits €3 billion – Envoy

By: Michael Mike

Nigeria-Germany trade volume has hit an all-time high of €3 billion, the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Gunther said on Thursday

The envoy who addressed a press conference in Abuja said the 30% increase could be attributed to Nigeria’s economic recovery.

Gunther who called the press conference ahead of the joint Nigerian-German binational commission scheduled for Berlin, in German, noted that Nigeria remains “Germany’s second biggest trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa with a total trade volume of 3 billion Euros,” adding that: “Trade volumes have increased this year by 30% due to Nigeria’s economic recovery.”

The envoy equally revealed that more than 90 German companies are active in the country, “indirectly creating about 17.000 jobs in Nigeria.”

Gunther also told journalists that good times between both countries were not over, promising Nigerians that more investments are on the way, especially in the energy and the pharmaceutical sectors.

She revealed that in the energy sector, the Presidential Power initiative is now in the second phase.

She said: “This cooperation with the German energy giant Siemens will add about 7 Gigawatts to Nigeria’s Energy Grid. Secondly, the German –Nigerian cooperation in the Gas sector, eliminating gas flaring and improving Nigeria´s CO2 footprint.”

The envoy revealed that the relationship has also improved in the area of Visa and Migration as no fewer than 7,600 visas were issued to both students and short term stay, adding that plans were already in place to increase the number.

Gunther said: “All the common goals and projects would not work if they were not supported by travels on all levels between our two countries, plus legal migration. Last year alone, the German Embassy here in Abuja and the German Consulate General in Lagos granted around 1400 long-term visas for purposes such as study in Germany, family reunion and employment as well as around 6200 visas for short-term stays such as business and tourism.

She revealed that: “This year, we are well on track to raise those numbers,” stating that:
“The German missions remain committed to furthering the bilateral relations by granting visas to properly documented applications.”

She also assured that in the area of military cooperation, Germany will continue to stand by Nigeria.

She said: “This year marked a new chapter: the launch of our first Bilateral Annual Programme, bringing military experts from both countries together for in-depth exchanges and joint planning.

“Through the Bundeswehr Advisory Group, Germany has been a reliable partner — supporting Nigeria with field medical expertise and counter-IED operations, car mechanical training and other interventions.

“And we’re not stopping here. Germany will continue to stand with Nigeria in the fight against terrorism.

“Next month, we’ll take this cooperation to the next level: for the first time, high-level military staff talks will take place in Abuja, opening the door to even closer collaboration in the future.”

She also revealed other areas of cooperation which includes support for the Nigeria police force and the drug enforcement agency amongst others.

In the area of stabilization efforts at containing impacts of terrorism and climate change, the envoy said: “Germany is supporting the development of resilient state institutions and the strengthening of local communities.”

She said focus are on the North East (Borno, Adamawa, Yobe) and the North West (Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina), “where initiatives such as the reconstruction of schools, health centres, markets, housing, and police stations are improving both security and daily life for local people.”

Nigeria-Germany Trade Volume Hits €3 billion – Envoy

Continue Reading

Trending

Verified by MonsterInsights