The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)1 has raised the alarm over a worsening nutrition crisis in Nigeria, revealing that 3.5 million children are currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, July 22, Judith Leveille, Chief of Field Operations and Emergencies at UNICEF Nigeria, warned that unless urgent steps are taken, over 400,000 children could die within weeks.
“Nutrition stabilisation centres are already overwhelmed, and as we enter the peak of the lean season, the situation will only get worse,” Leveille said.
She cautioned that supplies of essential nutrition commodities, including ready-to-use therapeutic food, could run out by September 1 unless more support is mobilised.
“We need to call on all forces to prevent a stockout,” she added, highlighting the need for more trained health workers and essential medicines.
Camilla Higgins, Director of the Nigeria INGO Forum, painted a grim picture of the scale of the crisis.
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“Imagine Abuja’s national stadium filled 60 times with children – that’s the number we’re talking about,” she said.
According to her, shrinking international support, including recent US aid cuts, has severely hampered humanitarian efforts, especially in the North-East and North-West.
Bilal Ahmad, Head of Mission at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said mortality rates are rising in overcrowded treatment centres in Sokoto and Katsina. “We’re seeing as high as 7.7 percent mortality in some areas,” he noted, calling for more centres and food aid.
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, responded by assuring that the federal government is committed to building transparent, effective partnerships to tackle the crisis.
He said President Tinubu’s administration is focused on reducing humanitarian suffering.
Stakeholders all called for urgent, unified action to prevent more avoidable child deaths.