3.5 million Nigerian children suffering severe acute malnutrition – UNICEF

UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund on Tuesday said 3.5 million children in Nigeria are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

UNICEF Nigeria’s Chief of Field Operations and Emergencies, Judith Leveille, stated this during a joint press briefing held in Abuja, focused on the European Union’s support for victims of the Yelwata crisis in Benue State and the nutrition emergency in the North-East and North-West.

According to her, the situation is dire and requires urgent action, noting that 400,000 children risk preventable deaths in one month and eight days.

She said, “Today, we are gathered because we have a common understanding. More can be done to ensure that all severely acute malnourished children, and we are talking about a burden of 3.5 million children in Nigeria, are treated. The situation is dire. Over the weekend, we met over 100 children who needed urgent treatment. We met little Memunah, little Aisha, their mothers, and of course, my colleagues—the Médecins Sans Frontières, Action Against Hunger, were there at the stabilization centres. We met with committed nurses and doctors who work around the clock with Nigerian medical teams to save children’s lives. That is truly commendable.

“But more needs to be done. What we saw is that nutritional stabilisation centres are already overstretched, and we still haven’t reached the peak of the lean season. We will reach that in about three weeks, and the peak season will last for over a month. What we saw in some communities in Sokoto is not unique.

“It can also be seen in many other states, particularly in the northern parts of Nigeria. So, we need to call on all forces to prevent a stockout of essential nutrition commodities used to treat severe acute malnutrition. As we speak, we can expect a stockout by September 1.

“So, we have one month and eight days to avoid the preventable deaths of over 400,000 children. That’s a lot of children. I’m sure that among them, there could be a Nobel Prize winner, a brilliant scientist who invents a life-saving solution, a great Nigerian musician, or a great actor. Nigeria has the potential to produce such individuals. A lot can be done to prevent this situation. By essential commodities, I’m talking about ready-to-use therapeutic food.”

Leveille emphasised the need not only for funding, but also for skilled personnel and essential medicines.

The Nigeria INGO Forum Director, Camilla Higgins, reiterated that an estimated 3.5 million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the country.

She said, “That’s the equivalent of the national stadium here in Abuja times 60. You would have to fill it 60 times to capture that number of children, and they are all at risk of increased death. This really demands urgent and coordinated action by the government, and we are very ready to support such an effort in coordination with international actors like UNICEF and our member organisations.

“In addition to what we’ve heard about the level of needs this year, we want to highlight that a major contributory factor to this worsening situation is the reduction of resources across the board, particularly from major international donors. We all know what happened earlier this year with the U.S. funding cuts and other major donors reducing their capacity as well.

“I have to highlight that international response capacity is collapsing in the Northeast and Northwest. The response system is stretched beyond its limits. We’ve seen severe acute malnutrition admissions surge up to 40 per cent in the Northeast and 73 per cent in some cities. Malnutrition is now visibly affecting adults, not just children. So, we have even more needs this year and more limited resources, just as we are approaching the peak of the lean season.” Punch