Northern Nigeria is currently grappling with a devastating malnutrition crisis, with more than 600 children reportedly dying within the first half of 2025 due to the lack of timely medical care and dwindling international support, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF).
In a statement released on Friday, the medical humanitarian organisation described the situation as critical, revealing that 652 children have lost their lives in MSF-run facilities since January. The majority of these deaths, the group noted, were preventable and occurred due to insufficient access to lifesaving treatment.
Between January and June this year, cases of severe acute malnutrition among children surged by a staggering 208 percent compared to the same period in 2024. This form of malnutrition is the most dangerous, often leading to death without urgent medical intervention.
MSF’s Nigeria country representative, Ahmed Aldikhari, expressed grave concern over the worsening conditions, stating that “the true scale of the crisis exceeds all predictions.”
He pointed to significant reductions in foreign aid as a major factor undermining the response effort. These reductions, he said, have affected not only U.S. contributions but also critical funding from the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The funding cuts come in the wake of decisions by U.S. President Donald Trump to scale back overseas spending, which has had a ripple effect on humanitarian interventions in high-need regions like Nigeria’s conflict-affected north.
The region is already under immense pressure due to prolonged insurgency, escalating jihadist violence, and soaring living costs, all of which have exacerbated the hunger and malnutrition crisis.
The impact of the crisis extends beyond children. MSF also reported disturbing findings from a recent survey of 750 pregnant and breastfeeding women in northern Nigeria.
The results showed that more than half of these women were suffering from acute malnutrition, with 13 percent classified as severely acutely malnourished—a condition that threatens both maternal and infant health.
The World Food Programme (WFP) also painted a grim picture of the nation’s food security situation. David Stevenson, WFP’s country director for Nigeria, disclosed that nearly 31 million people across the country are now battling acute hunger—a record high.
In a dire warning earlier this week, the WFP announced that due to a critical lack of funds, it will be forced to halt emergency food and nutritional assistance for 1.3 million people in Nigeria’s northeast by the end of July.
The cutback is expected to leave the most vulnerable populations—including children, nursing mothers, and the elderly—without essential support.
Together, these developments highlight a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian landscape in northern Nigeria, where conflict, poverty, and the collapse of international aid are converging to produce a malnutrition emergency of catastrophic proportions.