By Folasade Akpan
Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, says it treated 444,723 children for malnutrition in Nigeria in 2025.
The Country Representative, Ahmed Aldikhari, said this on Wednesday in Abuja during the unveiling of the organisation’s Nigeria Activity Report for 2025.
Aldikhari said 353,989 children with severe acute malnutrition were treated through MSF-supported outpatient programmes, while 90,723 children requiring specialised care were admitted into stabilisation centres nationwide.
According to him, the figures represent a 20 per cent increase in severe acute malnutrition cases treated and a 15 per cent rise in admissions compared to 2024.
He said MSF teams had observed a steady rise in malnutrition cases across northern Nigeria since 2022, with 2025 marking the peak of the crisis so far.
“Malnutrition is not only about lack of food.
“It is closely linked to preventable diseases such as measles, diphtheria, meningitis and malaria, which weaken children further and push them into severe malnutrition,” he said.
Aldikhari identified conflict, insecurity, inflation, displacement, flooding and drought as factors limiting access to healthcare services and adequate food supplies across affected communities.
He said MSF provided inpatient and outpatient care, Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, vaccination campaigns and nutrition interventions using locally available nutrient-rich foods such as Tom Brown.
Speaking on government response, Aldikhari said MSF was collaborating with key ministries and engaging the Presidency to ensure the malnutrition crisis received sustained national attention.
“Last year, we had the biggest conference for combating malnutrition in the Northwest, where we also had commitments from governors to ensure action is taken.
“We are beginning to see some action, but these actions are still not enough,” he said.
He also warned of a widening global funding gap caused by donor withdrawal, emphasising that governments and communities must strengthen food systems and healthcare delivery mechanisms.
On disease outbreaks, the Medical Activity Manager, Shafa’atu Abdulkadir, said MSF treated 38,753 children for measles and 6,123 for diphtheria nationwide in 2025.
She added that 985 patients were treated for meningitis, while 341,239 people received treatment for malaria across MSF-supported facilities in the country.
According to Abdulkadir, MSF also supported vaccination of more than 300,000 children against measles, meningitis and diphtheria through nationwide immunisation campaigns.
She said Nigeria continued to face seasonal outbreaks of cholera, Lassa fever, meningitis, measles, diphtheria and typhoid fever, especially during the rainy season annually.
Abdulkadir emphasised that many disease outbreaks remained preventable through vaccination, timely diagnosis, safe water access and early treatment interventions in vulnerable communities.
The Medical Coordinator, Louis Vala, said Nigeria remained among countries with the highest maternal and newborn mortality rates globally in spite of existing interventions.
According to him, MSF assisted 33,590 deliveries, conducted 119,469 antenatal consultations and carried out 224 Vesico-Vaginal Fistula surgeries during the reporting period.
Vala said access to emergency obstetric and newborn care remained limited in many rural and conflict-affected communities because of insecurity, cost and overstretched healthcare facilities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Médecins Sans Frontières has operated in Nigeria since 1996, responding to disease outbreaks, disasters, emergency health needs and gaps in healthcare access nationwide.
The organisation supports paediatric and maternal healthcare, treatment for malnutrition, tuberculosis, measles and malaria, while also providing mental health services and care for survivors of sexual violence.
MSF also conducts reconstructive surgeries for noma and fistula patients and operated across 10 states in 2025, including Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.
The organisation additionally established a new presence in Kaduna and responded to medical emergencies in Benue, Plateau and Taraba states in 2026.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
