MSF Treated 425,634 Nigerian Children for Acute Malnutrition in 2025
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has raised alarm over Nigeria's escalating child malnutrition crisis, saying its teams provided treatment to 425,634 children with acute malnutrition in 2025. That figure represents a 41.8 per cent jump compared with the previous year.
According to the organisation, treating already malnourished children is not enough to address a problem of this magnitude. It called for expanded preventive efforts, better primary healthcare, food security programmes and continued backing from both government and donors.
Dr Ahmed Aldikhari, MSF's Country Representative in Nigeria, made the disclosure in Abuja during an event marking 30 years of the organisation's medical and humanitarian work in the country. He described the situation as especially dire in northern Nigeria, where malnutrition is worsened by infectious diseases, displacement, insecurity and poor access to essential health services.
"Malnutrition, infectious diseases, maternal health needs, displacement and insecurity are closely connected. A child weakened by malnutrition may be more vulnerable to disease, while displacement can make it harder for families to access food, clean water and healthcare," Aldikhari said.
MSF reported that between January and August 2026 its teams treated 57,999 children in inpatient facilities and 220,995 children through outpatient programmes. The organisation said these numbers reflect the unrelenting strain on communities and health services as families struggle to obtain sufficient food and medical care.
For the 2026 lean season, the Food and Agriculture Organization projected that 34.7 million people in Nigeria could face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity, while more than 5.4 million children were expected to suffer from acute malnutrition.
Aldikhari said that while treating severely malnourished children remains central to MSF's mission, the sheer scale of the problem means treatment by itself will not suffice.
"Treatment is essential — it is why we exist — but treatment alone cannot resolve a crisis of this scale. We cannot treat our way out of it. We must also prevent it," he said.
The MSF representative urged stronger collaboration among government authorities, donors, international organisations, communities and humanitarian partners to tackle the root causes of malnutrition. He stressed that nutrition cannot be viewed separately from other health and humanitarian challenges, pointing out that diseases such as malaria, cholera, diphtheria and measles can further threaten children already weakened by malnutrition.
Ms Elsie Attafuah, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, also spoke to the severity of the crisis, noting that MSF treated more than 400,000 children for malnutrition in northern Nigeria in 2025. She said that behind these statistics are children and families grappling with insecurity, rising living costs, disrupted livelihoods and limited access to essential services.
Attafuah called on stakeholders to boost prevention and invest in services that can address malnutrition before children need emergency treatment. She identified nutrition, vaccination, safe water, sanitation, maternal healthcare and reliable referral systems as areas requiring greater attention. The UN official also emphasised the need to protect humanitarian access so that health workers and vulnerable communities can safely reach essential services.
Representing the federal government, Dr Sampson Ebimaro, Director of Internal Cooperation at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, called for sustained partnership between the government and MSF to meet the needs of vulnerable Nigerians. He said stronger collaboration and investment in health systems were necessary to sustain gains and ensure vulnerable communities are not left behind.
MSF began operations in Nigeria in 1996 during a meningitis epidemic in Kano, Bauchi and Katsina states, and now works across 10 states. The organisation said more than 90 per cent of its over 3,400 staff in Nigeria are Nigerians.
As it marks three decades in the country, MSF said tackling malnutrition will require a combination of timely treatment and longer-term measures aimed at preventing children from becoming malnourished in the first place.
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