A humanitarian red flag has been raised in northern Nigeria, where Médecins Sans Frontières is battling an explosion in severe malnutrition cases among children, with some locations reporting a staggering 100% increase in admissions, eclipsing last year’s numbers and underscoring the urgent need for action.
Nigeria’s nutrition crisis is escalating at an unprecedented pace, with Médecins Sans Frontières reporting a shocking acceleration of the lean season, typically expected in July, but now unfolding months early, with acute malnutrition cases soaring.
On Tuesday, the organization took the podium, issuing a press statement that blew the whistle on the dire straits facing the country, and the world took notice.
“We are resorting to treating patients on mattresses on the floor because our facilities are full. Children are dying. If immediate action is not taken, more lives hang in the balance. Everyone needs to step in to save lives and allow the children of northern Nigeria to grow free from malnutrition and its disastrous long-term if not fatal, consequences,” said the MSF’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Simba Tirima.
With time running out, the humanitarian group appealed to Nigerian authorities, global organizations, and donors to join hands and launch a comprehensive response, providing emergency care to malnourished children while working to address the underlying drivers of this devastating crisis.
“We’ve been warning about the worsening malnutrition crisis for the last two years. 2022 and 2023 were already critical, but an even grimmer picture is unfolding in 2024. We can’t keep repeating these catastrophic scenarios year after year. What will it take to make everyone take notice and act?” added Dr Tirima.
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The humanitarian situation in northeast Nigeria took a dire turn in April, as MSF’s medical team in Maiduguri struggled to cope with an overwhelming influx of severely malnourished children, admitting 1,250 patients with complications, twice the number seen during the same period last year.
“Forced to urgently scale up capacity, by the end of May the centre accommodated 350 patients, far surpassing the 200 beds initially designated for the peak malnutrition season in July and August.
“Also in the northeast, the MSF-operated facility in Bauchi state’s Kafin Madaki hospital recorded a significant 188 per cent increase in admissions of severely malnourished children during the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
“In the northwestern part of the region, in Zamfara state, the inpatient centres in Shinkafi and Zurmi have received up to 30 per cent more monthly admissions in April compared to March. Talata Mafara’s facility saw about a 20 per cent increase in the same period.
“In the northwestern part of the region, in Zamfara state, the inpatient centres in Shinkafi and Zurmi have received up to 30 per cent more monthly admissions in April compared to March. Talata Mafara’s facility saw about a 20 per cent increase in the same period.
“Similarly, MSF inpatient facilities in major cities like Kano and Sokoto are also reporting alarming surges, by 75 and 100 per cent respectively. The therapeutic feeding centre in Kebbi state also documented a rise of more than 20 per cent in inpatient admissions from March to April 2024,” the statement said.
The crisis is further compounded by a humanitarian response that’s falling woefully short, with aid groups on the ground, including MSF, struggling to keep up with the staggering need, as the situation continues to deteriorate.
“The United Nations and Nigerian authorities issued an urgent appeal in May for $306.4m to address the pressing nutritional needs in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states. Yet this will be insufficient, ignoring as it does other parts of northern Nigeria where needs also outweigh the current capacity of the organisations to respond sufficiently.
“The catastrophic nutritional situation seen in recent years in northern Nigeria calls for a bigger response. Persistently excluded from the formal humanitarian response, reductions in the already limited funding available for the northwest have also dangerously affected the provision of crucial therapeutic and supplementary food.
“These supplies were completely unavailable in Zamfara for the first four months of this year and are now only available in lower quantities. This reduction has meant that it is only possible to provide treatment for more severe malnutrition cases, compromising an effective response that also addresses malnutrition earlier in its progression and avoids exposing children to a higher risk of mortality.”
The Representative lamented the reduction in aid, stating that restricting support to only severely malnourished children was equivalent to withholding care until they became dangerously ill, underscoring the need for urgent action.
The group called on donors and authorities to scale up support urgently, emphasizing the importance of a twin-track approach that combines curative and preventive measures, to provide lifesaving assistance to all malnourished children.