Nigeria: Neglected Humanitarian Crisis Escalates in Northwest Nigeria

Hawa’u looks over her son as he receives treatment for malaria in MSF's paediatric war in Gummi. Zamfara state, Nigeria, October 2023.The level of humanitarian support available to respond to people's critical needs in northern Nigeria is in dramatic decline. In the northwest, a humanitarian crisis persists, with catastrophic levels of malnutrition and recurrent outbreaks of preventable diseases, says Médecins Sans Frontières .

"We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to the UN and donors about the alarming and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the northwest," says Ahmed Bilal, MSF head of mission."The lack of recognition of the crisis is having a severe impact on the health and humanitarian needs of people, and is delaying the response, which is desperately needed."

Last year, MSF medical teams working in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina and Kano states treated 171,465 malnourished children as outpatients and admitted 32,104 children for life-threatening severe acute malnutrition - a 14 per cent rise on the previous year. In Katsina, our teams found high levels of acute malnutrition in 2023 with 17.

"I cannot recall how many times my village has been attacked," says Aisha, whose baby is receiving treatment for malaria at an MSF health facility in Gummi, Zamfara state."We are afraid to travel, but we had no choice, as my baby was very ill and the clinic in my village is short of health staff and medications."

In 2023, there were some small signs from donors and aid organisations of increasing interest and mobilisation in northwest Nigeria. However, the funding has not been forthcoming and, in a climate of global aid cuts, the few aid agencies working in the region do not have the capacity to scale up their work.

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