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Tackling twin peaks of malaria and malnutrition in Kano, northwest Nigeria
Tackling twin peaks of malaria and malnutrition in Kano, northwest Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
Zuwaira Muhammad, 26, sits on a hospital bed at the Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centre (ITFC) at the Unguwa Uku Primary Healthcare Centre in Kano, northwest Nigeria. Here, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) offers critical treatment to children suffering from malnutrition. By her sides, lie her 10-month-old twins—Safwan, a boy, sleeping peacefully on her right, while Safuna, a girl, lying on her left-hand side is currently receiving a blood transfusion.
Safuna is one of the over 40,000 children treated for malnutrition in Kano in 2024. The children brought to MSF-supported facilities primarily come due to malnutrition but upon screening, most of them are found to also have malaria.
From January to May 2024, about 9,000 out of the 14,000 children diagnosed with malnutrition tested positive for malaria after screening. Malaria and malnutrition have a complex relationship, with malnutrition increasing the risk of malaria and malaria increasing the risk of malnutrition. This relationship can lead to a cycle of malnutrition and malaria, which can be especially harmful to children under five.
“Malaria can reduce appetite and make it harder for the body to absorb nutrients, leading to malnutrition. Conversely, malnutrition can weaken the immune system, making children more susceptible to infections like malaria,” says Dr. Yanu Mbuyi, MSF Medical Coordinator in Nigeria.
Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in Nigeria. According to the WHO’s 2024 World Malaria Report, Nigeria accounts for 26 percent of malaria cases globally. Kano state contributed an estimated nine percent of Nigeria’s 68 million malaria cases in 2021 and 30 percent of admissions to Nigeria’s hospitals are because of malaria.
Our teams in Kano have observed a distressing increase in the number of children suffering from malnutrition, as evidenced by the rise in admissions. In 2022, MSF treated 7,798 children for malnutrition; that number rose to 23,800 in 2023 and 46,304 in 2024.
“What we had in 2024 was a twin peak of malaria and malnutrition with 36,546 confirmed cases of malaria, the highest number recorded since we started working in Kano”, says Dr. Hemmed M Lokonge, the MSF Project Coordinator in Kano.
In response to the rising rates of malnutrition, MSF expanded its operations by opening additional outpatient treatment facilities in Kumbotso, and Rijiyar Lemo, alongside the already established one in Unguwa Uku. During the malnutrition crisis, the 75-bed inpatient facility in Unguwa Uku reached full capacity, prompting the opening of an additional 90-bed centre at Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital. This was full in just two hours.
“Safuna is feeling better now compared to when I brought her here a few days ago,” Muhammad says, having travelled over 40 kilometres from Wudil to access MSF services. “She was weak and could hardly move, but now she has more energy and can even laugh.”
MSF activities in Kano, which began as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, evolved to include general outpatient department support and response to the growing malnutrition crisis. Presently, MSF is the only organisation providing inpatient therapeutic feeding services in Kano, with patients coming from 37 out of the 44 local government areas (LGAs) in the state, as well as from neighbouring states.
Since 2022, MSF has consistently raised concerns about the increasing number of children admitted for malnutrition at its facilities across northern Nigeria. In 2024, our teams treated over 357,000 children who were suffering from malnutrition in the facilities where we are working in the north. This is an increase of 35 per cent compared to the 265,500 children treated in 2023. Among those treated in 2024, 75,000 required inpatient care, while 282,000 received outpatient treatment.
In 2024, the surge in malnutrition cases began as early as March, well before the usual peak season in July, and extended through November, a time when cases are typically expected to decline. This situation raises fears that the severity of malnutrition in 2025 could exceed that of previous years.
The persistent malnutrition crisis in northern Nigeria stems from a variety of factors such as inflation; food insecurity; insufficient healthcare infrastructure; ongoing security issues, and disease outbreaks worsened by low vaccine coverage.
Tackling acute malnutrition in northern Nigeria requires a multi-faceted approach. Immediate measures include strengthening healthcare facilities to diagnose and treat malnutrition. Additional steps involve reinforcing vaccine programmes, enhancing access to nutritious food, improving water and sanitation, and raising awareness.
Currently, MSF operates outpatient clinics in only three Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kano State: Tarauni, Fagge, and Kumbotso. This limited geographical coverage is significant, considering that Kano State is made up of 44 LGAs. It underscores the insufficient number of clinics available to address the large volume of children suffering from malnutrition.
MSF advocates for establishing outpatient feeding centres across all LGAs in Kano to enhance community-based management of malnutrition and reduce severe cases. In 2025, MSF’s health promotion activities will shift focus to community education, empowering families to recognise early signs of malnutrition and address them before hospitalisation is necessary.
It is essential that health authorities, international organisations, and donors intensify their efforts to address the escalating malnutrition crisis in Kano and throughout northwest Nigeria—a region currently lacking sufficient humanitarian response, to prevent further lives from being lost in 2025.
Tackling twin peaks of malaria and malnutrition in Kano, northwest Nigeria
News
Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval
Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval
By Aisha Gambo
The Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE) has commended the Kaduna State Executive Council for approving the Kaduna State Life Skills Policy and the State Policy on Gender in Education (SPGE 2026–2030).
The Executive Director of the organisation, Habiba Mohammed, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna.
She said the approval marked a transition from donor-supported, time-bound interventions to a sustainable, government-led framework for delivering life skills education and promoting gender equity in schools.
According to her, the Life Skills Policy will equip young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to succeed in education, employment and life, while the Gender in Education Policy providzbves a framework to promote equity, inclusion, participation, retention, completion and improved learning outcomes.
“The approval moves life skills and gender equity from the margins of the classroom into the core of Kaduna State’s education system,” she said.
Mohammed said CGE contributed to the development and validation of the policies through its system-strengthening project supported by Co-Impact, OASIS Initiative and the Malala Fund, in collaboration with the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) and the Kaduna State Ministry of Education.
She said the policies built on more than 18 years of the organisation’s Safe Space model, which independent evaluations showed had helped reduce child marriage, increase school enrolment and delay early marriage.
According to her, the AGILE programme in Kaduna has reached more than 127,319 girls and 6,250 boys between the ages of 14 and 18, while over 1,400 female and male teachers have been trained as mentors.
She added that institutionalising the model through public policy would ensure that life skills education became a permanent component of the state’s education system.
Mohammed said the policies would address barriers to school access, retention and completion, particularly for girls and other vulnerable learners.
She added that they would also institutionalise life skills as a co-curricular programme, strengthen evidence-based decision-making across the state’s 23 local government areas and guarantee continuity beyond donor-funded programmes.
The executive director commended Gov. Uba Sani for providing the leadership that made the policy approval possible.
She also appreciated the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, the Kaduna State Ministry of Education, the AGILE State Project Implementation Unit, the World Bank and other stakeholders for their contributions to the process.
Mohammed reaffirmed CGE’s commitment to supporting the Kaduna State Government with technical assistance during the implementation phase, including teacher training, gender-responsive education sector budgeting and monitoring.
She said the ultimate goal was to ensure that every girl and boy in Kaduna State had the opportunity to learn, develop and thrive.
Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval
News
Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base
Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base
By: Zagazola Makama
Six fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were reportedly killed and seven others seriously wounded during a failed attack on a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Logomani in Borno State, credible intelligence sources have disclosed.
The sources told Zagazola Makama that the terrorists launched the attack on the military position in the early hours of July 7 but suffered significant casualties after troops mounted a fierce resistance.
According to the intelligence assessment, the attackers had assembled at Garal before advancing on the military base.
Following the failed assault, surviving insurgents were reportedly seen regrouping at Chukun Gudu, where they buried six of their fighters killed during the encounter.
Among those reportedly buried was a senior fighter identified as Munzir, also known as Ba Alayi, who was said to be an indigene of Wulgo.
The development comes as troops of Operation HADIN KAI continue sustained clearance operations aimed at dismantling terrorist enclaves and disrupting insurgents’ logistics and mobility across the Lake Chad region.
Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base
Health
Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle
Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle
By: Zagazola Makama
A cholera outbreak has reportedly claimed the lives of nine fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Timbuktu Triangle, a known terrorist stronghold in Borno State, intelligence sources have disclosed.
The sources told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the outbreak had spread through the group’s enclaves, highlighting deteriorating sanitary conditions and limited access to medical care within the insurgents’ camps.
According to the intelligence, two additional ISWAP fighters infected with the disease were allegedly executed by fellow terrorists after attempts to manage their condition at Kimba village proved unsuccessful.
The sources said the development pointed to the worsening health conditions within the terrorist hideouts, where sustained military pressure has disrupted logistics, including access to medicines and treatment facilities.
The sources added that commanders had also been urged to intensify efforts to intercept medical supplies and pharmaceuticals intended for terrorist camps in order to further degrade ISWAP’s treatment capability and operational resilience.
The reported outbreak comes amid sustained offensives by troops of Operation HADIN KAI, who continue to target terrorist enclaves and logistics networks across the Lake Chad region in a bid to degrade the insurgents’ fighting capacity.
Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle
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