A huge number of children in northern Nigeria are experiencing severe malnutrition, as reported by The Guardian, citing local aid workers.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Maiduguri, Nigeria has the highest number of food-insecure people globally, totaling 31.8 million.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), active in seven states, stated that its facilities are overwhelmed, with children being treated on mattresses on the floor, confirming that in April, the medical organization admitted 1,250 children to a therapeutic feeding center in Maiduguri, double the number from the same period in 2023.
Severe acute malnutrition is also leading to conditions such as tuberculosis and acute diarrhea, and has stunted children’s growth. MSF reported that over 52,000 patients were diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition in seven states in 2023, with 2,693 deaths.
The rise in malnutrition is attributed to food inflation near 30% and increasing food insecurity. One-third of the population, more than the combined populations of the UK, Ireland, and Denmark, live on less than £1 a day.
In northern Nigeria, farmland has been abandoned due to gang violence, including kidnappings, extortion, and murders of farmers. The Nigerian newspaper Punch reported that 165 farmers were killed in the first three months of this year.
By the end of 2022, about 1.2 million people were displaced in eight states in central and northwest Nigeria due to violence, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration. Additionally, approximately 2.3 million people were displaced in the northeast, where extremist groups like Boko Haram remain active.
