The Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has revealed that it has treated more than 3,200 children for severe malnutrition in Maiduguri within a single month, amid what it describes as a worsening health emergency in Borno State.
According to the medical charity, the surge began in late August and peaked in early September, forcing its Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centre (ITFC) at Nilefa Kiji Hospital to nearly double its bed capacity adding that at the height of the crisis, the facility was admitting an average of 85 new patients daily.
This was contained in a statement issued by MSF field communication officer Mr AbdulKareem Yakubu.
“In addition to malnutrition, we faced a rise in measles cases. Our isolation wards filled rapidly, and even after creating extra space, they remain about 70 percent full,” said MSF Project Coordinator, Daniela Batista.
At MSF’s Shuwari extension, 3,265 children were treated for malnutrition between August and early September, while 1,521 others had to be referred for continued care. More than 625 malnourished children were also treated for measles,” he said.
According to the statement MSF Project Coordinator Daniela Batista, has revealed that the crisis has been aggravated by reduced humanitarian funding, which forced some aid agencies to scale back or suspend nutrition programmes in Maiduguri. Shortages of therapeutic milk and ready-to-use therapeutic food have further stretched available resources.
Adding that, MSF has also expressed concern over children from hard-to-reach communities such as Zabarmari, where insecurity has prevented aid workers from delivering consistent healthcare.
The statement further revealed that the situation in Maiduguri mirrors a wider trend across northern Nigeria, where malnutrition rates are surging in states including Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, and Bauchi stressing that the United Nations estimates that 2.5 million children across the northeast are at risk of acute malnutrition.
The statement explained that MSF has urged health authorities and humanitarian partners to urgently scale up support, warning that without immediate intervention, more children’s lives will be lost.
