Malnutrition crisis in northern Nigeria: mobilization is urgently needed to avoid further deaths

By: Abdulkareem Yakubu

Northern Nigeria is currently facing an alarming malnutrition crisis. In Katsina State for instance, where Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been present since 2021, the teams are seeing an ever-increasing number of malnourished children in its therapeutic feeding centers, with increasingly severe conditions and higher mortality rates. In collaboration with the local authorities, emergency prevention distribution of nutritional supplements has started for 66,000 children in the local government area of Mashi. In the context of drastic cuts in international funding, the need for prevention and treatment of malnutrition is enormous in northern Nigeria, and urgent mobilization is required.

By the end of June 2025, nearly 70,000 malnourished children had already received medical care from our teams in Katsina State, including nearly 10,000 who were hospitalized in serious condition. Without taking into account the new healthcare facilities opened by MSF during the year in the state, this represents an increase of approximately one-third compared to last year. In addition, between January and June 2025, the number of malnourished children with nutritional oedema, the most severe and deadly form of malnutrition, rose by 208 percent compared with the same period in 2024. Unfortunately, 652 children have already died in our facilities since the nobeginning of 2025 due to a lack of timely access to care. A worrying sign of the growing severity of this major public health emergency, is that adults—particularly women, including pregnant and breastfeeding women—are also affected. A screening carried out in July in all five MSF malnutrition centers in Katsina State on 750 mothers of patients revealed that more than half of adult caregivers were acutely malnourished, including 13 percent with severe acute malnutrition.

To cope with the massive influx of children expected by the end of the lean season in October, MSF has increased its support to local authorities in several states in north Nigeria where we provide care to the population. In Katsina state for instance, we opened a new ambulatory therapeutic feeding center (AFTC) in Mashi and an additional inpatient therapeutic feeding center (ITFC) in Turai, to provide a total of 900 beds in two MSF-supported hospitals.

“The year 2024 marked a turning point in northern Nigeria’s nutritional crisis, with an increase of 25 percent from the previous year,” explains Ahmed Aldikhari, country representative of MSF in Nigeria. “But the true scale of the crisis exceeds all predictions. We are currently witnessing massive budget cuts, particularly from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, which are having a real impact on the treatment of malnourished children.”

Earlier this week, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced it will be forced to suspend all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in Northeast Nigeria by the end of July due to ‘critical funding shortfalls’.

“At the same time, we observe ever-increasing needs, such as in Katsina State, where an increasing number of people cannot afford to buy food anymore, even though it is available in markets,” added Aldikhari.

A food security survey carried out by humanitarian organizations in the local government area of Kaita, in Katsina state, before the lean season began at the start of 2025 revealed that over 90 percent of households had reduced the number of meals they ate each day.

Across the north, other factors worsening the malnutrition crisis include disease outbreaks worsened by low vaccine coverage, availability and accessibility of basic health services, and other socioeconomic indices complicated by insecurity and violence.

“The most urgent way to reduce the risk of immediate death from malnutrition is to ensure families have access to food,” says Emmanuel Berbain, nutrition referent at MSF. “This can be done through large-scale distribution of food or nutritional supplements, as we are currently doing in the Mashi area, or through cash distributions when and where it is possible.”

The capacity to care for and treat malnourished children must also be expanded, both by increasing the number of beds in health facilities and by providing funding and access to ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). These actions must be undertaken as a priority in areas where the needs – i.e. the number of malnourished children – are greatest.

People over the age of five, who are also increasingly affected by malnutrition but are currently not covered by any assistance, should also be included in prevention programs.

On July 8, His Excellency Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima publicly sounded the alarm on the scale of malnutrition in Nigeria, warning that it deprives almost 40 percent of children under the age of five of their full physical and cognitive potential. He described the situation as a national emergency requiring urgent and collective action.

MSF treated over 300,000 malnourished children in seven northern states in 2024, a 25 percent increase from 2023. In the Northwest alone, where MSF tackles malnutrition in the states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, and Zamfara, we have already treated almost 100,000 children suffering from severe and moderate acute malnutrition in outpatient treatment centres in the first six months of 2025 and hospitalized around 25,000 malnourished children

Malnutrition crisis in northern Nigeria: mobilization is urgently needed to avoid further deaths

Nigerian Poet Designated United Nations Global Advocate for Peace

By: Michael Mike

Maryam Bukar Hassan of Nigeria has been officially designated as the United Nations’ Global Advocate for Peace.

A renowned spoken word artist, poet, and peace advocate, Ms. Bukar uses the power of poetry and performance to champion gender equality, youth empowerment and inclusive peacebuilding.

Bukar has showcased her work on prestigious platforms including the UN SDG Awards, TED Talks and the World Bank Youth Summit. She has collaborated with the UN on initiatives such as the “Peace Begins With Me” poetry video for the International Day of Peace and her impactful spoken word performance at last year’s Summit of the Future.

Her dedication has earned her accolades such as the Sustainable Africa Award at COP28 and finalist recognition for the 2024 UN SDG Creativity Award.

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, highlighted the significance of her designation, stating that “the dedication of the Global Advocate’s time and energy to this effort will greatly increase awareness of the peace and security priorities of the United Nations, particularly the vital role of women and youth in advancing inclusive and sustainable peace.”

Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo also welcomed the designation, noting that “art has the power to move hearts, inspire action, and bring communities together. Through her compelling words and performances, Ms. Bukar has shown how creativity can be a force for peacebuilding, dialogue and inclusion. Her voice will be an important partner in amplifying the UN’s efforts to advance political solutions, empower young people and women, and sustain peace.”

In her new role as the first Global Advocate for the entire Peace and Security Pillar, Ms. Bukar will advance the UN’s peace efforts including through the Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security agendas, through storytelling, digital engagement, and public speaking. She will participate in key UN campaigns and events, including an upcoming performance at New York City’s SummerStage festival on Sunday, 27 July, alongside renowned artists Femi Kuti and Elida Almeida, among others.

Nigerian Poet Designated United Nations Global Advocate for Peace

Emir lauds ACReSAL’s impact on rural dwellers in Gombe

Alhaji Yakubu Kwairanga, the Emir of Funakaye, on Friday, lauded Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project’s impact on the lives and livelihoods of rural dwellers in Gombe State.

Kwairanga gave the commendation in Bajoga town of Funakaye Local Government Area of Gombe State during the distribution of energy-efficient cooking stoves to communities in the council.

He stated that ACReSAL project had helped in improving the lives of rural dwellers especially with its intervention in addressing land degradation, climate change impacts, and promoting sustainable development.

He said that ACReSAL had become a household name in view of the numerous environmental and empowerment projects being carried out in various communities across the state.

“I want to commend ACReSAL for their efforts in ensuring that rural dwellers and their livelihoods are protected.
“This is really commendable as living standards of residents of many communities have been improved.

“Today, energy-efficient cooking stoves are being distributed to rural dwellers and we are very happy because it will help improve their lives and help them save money.

“The tree planting campaign by ACReSAL is really impressive as it is helping to reclaim our land which has been affected by desertification,” he said.

Kwairanga warned beneficiaries of the stoves not to sell them, stressing that the essence of the distribution was to help alleviate economic challenges associated with cooking while helping to protect the environment.

Also speaking, the Gombe State ACReSAL Project Coordinator, Dr Sani Jauro, said the distribution of the energy-efficient cooking stoves was part of efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Jauro said no fewer than 800 stoves would be distributed to seven communities in the Council while the traditional rulers would be given 100.

He stated that the stoves would help reduce dependence on traditional, inefficient cooking methods, which contribute to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.

“These stoves are very efficient, as they use small amounts of briquettes and they will help low-income households to reduce costs while minimising deforestation caused by tree felling for cooking fuel.”

The state coordinator said that the event also provided an avenue for ACReSAL to engage with stakeholders at the grassroots on critical climate-change-related issues.

Jauro said that the event was also leveraged to sensitise the grassroots on the need to support Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State’s efforts at tackling environmental challenges by sustaining ACReSAL project and encouraging tree planting.

Corroborating Kwairanga, Jauro said that ACReSAL has impacted on lives and livelihoods of the people of the state, empowering women and youths out of poverty.

He said that ACReSAL projects in the state have restored degraded land, improved agricultural practices, and strengthened rural livelihoods through community-driven approaches.

He called on residents of the state to approach any of their nurseries across the state to collect free tree seedlings for planting, stressing that the task of combating impact of climate change was a collective approach.

Emir lauds ACReSAL’s impact on rural dwellers in Gombe