Market News

By Olayide Soaga

A new survey by the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international organisation also referred to as Doctors Without Borders, has revealed that children in some parts of Northwest Nigeria are suffering from acute levels of global malnutrition.

The MSF surveyed 2,066 children in the Katsina, Jibia and Mashi local government areas of Katsina State. It was done in collaboration with Epicentre, the epidemiology arm of the MSF, and the Katsina State Ministry of Health in July 2024.

It revealed that a staggering 30% of the children tested were suffering from global acute malnutrition in some areas and severe acute malnutrition rates — the most dangerous form of malnutrition — of between 6.8% and 14.4%.

Every year since 2022, the MSF has been conducting these surveys in these areas. The results of this year’s survey showed that global acute malnutrition levels had doubled since last year when the situation was already considered dire in some areas.

The children of the Katsina, Jibia and Mashi local government areas of Katsina State are not the demographics suffering from malnutrition. Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and Maiduguri are also grappling with a spike in malnourished children.

“This year, our teams across locations such as Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, and Maiduguri have been overwhelmed by an unprecedented number of malnourished children requiring urgent care,” said Dr Simba Tirima, country representative for MSF in Nigeria.

They found 27 per cent of children suffering from global acute malnutrition after conducting a mass screening in several areas of Zamfara state in early 2024.

The international NGO’s medical teams have also treated 294,000 children for malnutrition between January and September this year. This figure represents a 43% increase in the population of children who were treated for malnutrition by the MSF in 2023.

It further noted that children in the area where the survey was conducted are suffering from an “extremely critical level of malnutrition,” which is level five – the worst possible designation – of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system for evaluating malnutrition.

Dr. Raphael Kananga, MSF medical coordinator, described the results of the survey as terrifying.

“These survey results are, quite frankly, terrifying,” said Kananga.

“We have seen figures rising steadily for the past couple of years and now we are moving from critical to extremely critical levels. In one area of the state, Mashi local government area, we found 14 per cent of children we surveyed were severely malnourished, prevalence this high is catastrophic. We really need to see more, not less action from organisations, otherwise, we are going to see children dying in record numbers.”

READ ALSO: Health ministry laments alarming malnutrition report

It attributed the spike in malnutrition in these areas to the insufficient aid and relief in those regions, global funding cuts and the worsening food insecurity crisis in the country.

Food inflation rate has been skyrocketing in previous months in Nigeria, thus making food inaccessible for many Nigerians, particularly those living below the national poverty line.

Research and experts have proven that food inflation and food insecurity have contributed significantly to the rise in malnutrition.

Aside from food inflation and food insecurity, the MSF added that global funding cuts are reducing the ability of organisations to respond and treat children with malnutrition.

According to them, the northwest region is still not included in the UN’s humanitarian response plan for Nigeria. This is despite the huge increases in the prevalence of global acute malnutrition, which is over 75 per cent in Jibia LGA of Katsina State. Other areas, like Zamfara, have only received limited supplies available since March.

The MSF warns that there will be a deadlier catastrophe in 2025 if no solution is proffered.