440,000 Nigerian children treated for malnutrition in 2025 – MSF

… The crisis is worsening in states affected by conflict and food insecurity

…Nigeria has recorded the highest number of child entries in recent years

Daud Olatunji

Doctors Without Borders (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has raised the alarm over Nigeria’s worsening malnutrition crisis, revealing that more than 440,000 children were treated for varying degrees of the disease in 2025 alone.

The organization revealed this in its Country Activity Report 2025 released in Abuja, attributing the worsening situation to growing food insecurity, ongoing conflicts, inflation, floods, mass displacement and weak health systems in the affected regions.

MSF said its operations covered 10 states during the period under review, including Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Bauchi, Cross River and Ebonyi, while it also expanded its presence in Kaduna state.

According to the report, 353,989 children were treated for severe acute malnutrition through outpatient feeding programs, while another 90,723 with life-threatening complications were admitted to hospital stabilization centers supported by the organization.

MSF representative in Nigeria, Ahmed Aldikhari, described the data as evidence of an increasingly serious humanitarian emergency, noting that 2025 saw the highest number of hospitalizations due to malnutrition in recent years.

“The 2025 data tells a heartbreaking story. With over 440,000 children in care, it is the year with the highest number of malnutrition hospitalizations we have had in Nigeria in recent years,” Aldikhari said.

It warned that malnutrition continues to fuel susceptibility to infectious diseases such as measles, malaria, diphtheria and cholera, particularly in communities with limited access to healthcare.

The report also reveals that in 2025, MSF treated 341,239 malaria cases, 38,753 measles infections, 6,123 diphtheria cases and 985 meningitis patients in different states.

He noted that epidemics tend to intensify during the rainy season, further overwhelming already overwhelmed health facilities in vulnerable and conflict-affected communities.

MSF called for urgent strengthening of vaccination coverage, improved water and sanitation systems, increased disease surveillance and quicker access to treatment to curb preventable deaths.

On maternal health, the organization said Nigeria continues to have one of the highest maternal and neonatal mortality rates globally, with many women unable to access timely care due to insecurity, poor transportation networks, overburdened hospitals and weak referral systems.

It added that it supported 33,590 births, conducted 119,469 antenatal consultations and performed 224 fistula surgeries in 2025.

MSF also warned that many women continue to suffer from preventable complications such as severe bleeding, obstructed labor, infections and hypertensive disorders due to delays in accessing emergency care.

Aldikhari called for greater investment in primary healthcare, staffing, medical infrastructure and emergency obstetric services, especially in rural and conflict-affected areas across the country.

He stressed that without urgent intervention, Nigeria risks further deterioration in child survival and maternal health indicators as humanitarian conditions worsen.

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