652 children dead as malnutrition crisis worsens in northern Nigeria

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has sounded the alarm over an escalating malnutrition crisis in northern Nigeria, with Katsina State emerging as one of the worst-hit areas.

In a statement issued Friday, MSF’s Field Communication Officer, Abdulkareem Yakubu, revealed that the organization has treated nearly 70,000 malnourished children in Katsina alone this year, including almost 10,000 hospitalised in critical condition.

Tragically, 652 children have died in MSF facilities in 2025 due to delayed access to care.

MSF reported a staggering 208 per cent increase in cases of nutritional oedema—the deadliest form of malnutrition—between January and June 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

The crisis is being driven by worsening poverty, limited healthcare access, disease outbreaks, and insecurity across the region.

Compounding the emergency, the World Food Programme (WFP) recently announced plans to suspend emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in Nigeria’s northeast by the end of July due to funding shortfalls.

In Katsina’s Kaita Local Government Area, a recent food security survey showed over 90 per cent of households had cut down on daily meals ahead of the lean season.

Alarmingly, MSF reports that malnutrition is no longer confined to children.

A July screening of 750 mothers in five Katsina facilities found over half were acutely malnourished, with 13 per cent facing severe acute malnutrition.

“This is now a full-blown public health emergency,” MSF warned, noting that even pregnant and breastfeeding women are severely affected.

To curb the crisis, MSF, in partnership with local authorities, has launched large-scale distributions of nutritional supplements to 66,000 children in Mashi LGA.

It has also expanded healthcare services by opening an Ambulatory Therapeutic Feeding Centre in Mashi and an additional Inpatient Centre in Turai, increasing bed capacity in Katsina to 900.

MSF’s Country Representative, Ahmed Aldikhari, described 2024 as a turning point in the region’s nutrition emergency, with cases jumping 25 per cent over the previous year.

He blamed international funding cuts—particularly from the U.S., U.K., and E.U.—for the deteriorating situation.

“The scale of this crisis exceeds all expectations,” said Aldikhari.

“In Katsina, many families can no longer afford food, even when it’s available in markets.”

MSF nutrition expert Emmanuel Berbain urged immediate, large-scale food distributions, nutritional supplement programmes, and cash transfers to prevent further deaths.

He also called for the expansion of treatment programmes to include people over five, who are increasingly affected but often excluded from aid.

Vice President Kashim Shettima recently described malnutrition as a “national emergency,” noting it stunts the growth and development of nearly 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five.

In 2024 alone, MSF treated over 300,000 malnourished children across seven northern states—a 25 per cent rise from 2023.

In just the first half of 2025, nearly 100,000 children were treated for acute malnutrition in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, and Zamfara, with 25,000 requiring hospitalisation.