A catastrophic malnutrition crisis is unfolding in northwest Nigeria, with alarming rates of child malnutrition revealed by recent screening data. The dire situation is exacerbated by persistent poverty, food shortages, and insecurity, pushing the number of malnourished children in the region to unprecedented levels.
In June, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Zamfara State Ministry of Health conducted a mass screening of 97,149 children under five in the Shinkafi and Zurmi areas. The results were alarming: 27% of the children were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, including 5% with severe acute malnutrition. These figures far exceed the World Health Organization’s (WHO) threshold for a ‘critical’ malnutrition emergency.
MSF is urgently calling for health authorities, international organizations, and donors to ramp up efforts to address the escalating crisis in Zamfara and the broader northwest region, which remains outside the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan.
Critical Shortage of Therapeutic Food Threatens Children’s Lives
The screening also revealed that 22% of the children are moderately malnourished. However, a critical shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) essential for treatment is worsening the situation. Supplies were halted at the start of the year by UNICEF, leaving MSF facilities as the primary providers of care for moderately malnourished children in the region.
“The screening results are nothing short of alarming,” said Abdullahi Mohammad, an MSF representative in Nigeria. “The response is grossly insufficient. With malnutrition rates soaring and limited treatment options available, more children are slipping into life-threatening conditions. Every child must receive the care they desperately need.”
MSF operates four inpatient and 17 outpatient facilities in Zamfara, treating over 7,000 malnourished children from January to July 2024—a 34% increase compared to the same period last year. Admissions in Shinkafi and Zurmi alone have surged by 50%, highlighting the growing crisis.
Preventable Diseases Compounding Malnutrition Risks
MSF teams are also witnessing high numbers of children suffering from vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, malaria, and acute watery diarrhea, which severely compromise their nutritional status. Malnourished children are at greater risk of succumbing to these illnesses, further escalating the crisis.
“When I first brought my son to the hospital, I didn’t know if he would survive,” said Hafsat Lawal, a mother whose child is receiving treatment for malnutrition at an MSF facility. “Because of the insecurity, we don’t have food. The prices of food have more than doubled, and we can’t afford it.”
Urgent Need for Expanded Humanitarian Response
Zamfara’s residents are grappling with high levels of violence, which restricts their access to functioning healthcare facilities. According to health authorities, only 200 out of 700 healthcare centers in the state are currently accessible. Despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the region has long been excluded from coordinated international responses.
MSF urges the immediate expansion of health facilities to provide essential care for malnourished children and calls on UNICEF to resume the delivery of therapeutic foods to prevent further child deaths. The scale of the crisis requires a rapid and coordinated response to prevent more children from falling victim to this preventable catastrophe.