MSF Raises The Alarm Over Worsening Malnutrition In Northern Nigeria

A humanitarian organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known as Doctors Without Borders, has raised concerns over a deepening malnutrition crisis in Northern Nigeria, warning that 2024 marked a turning point with a 25 percent increase in malnutrition cases compared to 2023.

MSF’s country representative in Nigeria, Ahmed Aldikhari, said the situation has exceeded all previous predictions, noting that massive budget cuts, particularly from key donors like United States, United Kingdom and the European Union are threatening the treatment and survival of malnourished children.

“This year, we are witnessing the devastating impact of global funding cuts, while needs continue to rise drastically,” Aldikhari lamented.

Earlier this week, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it would suspend all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in North-East subregion of 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,” Aldikhari added.

A statement on Friday by the agency’s field communication officer, Abdulkareem Yakubu, 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.

In collaboration with the local authorities, MSF launched an emergency prevention distribution of nutritional supplements for 66,000 children in the local government area of Mashi.

“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 hospitalised 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,” the statement read.

Abdulkareem added that 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.

MSF also reported that 652 children have already died in its facilities since the beginning 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,” he added.

In July, a screening across MSF’s five malnutrition centres in Katsina, showed that more than half of 750 mothers surveyed were acutely malnourished, with 13 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

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