3.5 Million Children Starving: UNICEF Issues Stark Warning on Malnutrition Crisis
By: IDNN Health Desk
Nigeria is on the brink of a devastating child health emergency, with over 3.5 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, according to UNICEF.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Judith Leveille, UNICEF Nigeria’s Chief of Field Operations, warned that:
“We are one month and eight days away from running out of critical therapeutic food. Over 400,000 children could die if no action is taken.”
Leveille cited overstretched stabilisation centres and resource gaps, while Camilla Higgins of the Nigeria INGO Forum added:
“Severe acute malnutrition admissions have surged 40–73% in parts of the Northeast.”
Médecins Sans Frontières also expressed alarm, noting that children are arriving too late to be saved.
“We are putting two malnourished children on one bed in Katsina. Mortality rates are spiking,” MSF Head Bilal Ahmad said.
With a looming stockout of life-saving therapeutic food and overstretched resources in hotspots like Sokoto, Katsina, and Borno, humanitarian groups are urging immediate intervention.
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