Over 87,000 children treated for malnutrition in Nigeria — Premium Times Nigeria
In Katsina State in northern Nigeria, more than 87,000 children received outpatient treatment for acute malnutrition from January to August 2026. Assistance was provided at four therapeutic feeding centres run by the international humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Premium Times reports.
Over the same period, nearly 15,500 children were hospitalised due to severe or complicated malnutrition. In the first eight months of 2025, MSF provided outpatient care to more than 95,000 children, while about 16,500 patients required hospitalisation.
Malnutrition remains widespread
MSF Medical Coordinator in Nigeria Raphael Kananga said the current figure is lower than last year's, but remains extremely high and exceeds the level recorded two years ago. The cited statistics concern only children treated at MSF facilities, rather than the total number of children with malnutrition in the state.
The organisation cited poverty, inflation, insecurity, forced displacement, disease outbreaks and extreme weather conditions among the factors behind the crisis. According to MSF, these circumstances have disrupted agricultural activity and limited vulnerable communities' access to food.
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MSF also reported a significant number of children with kwashiorkor, a severe form of malnutrition that may be accompanied by swelling and skin lesions. A specialised unit was opened for such patients at the inpatient therapeutic feeding centre in Katsina.
Assistance is expanding, but funding is lacking
MSF partly linked the decline in the number of patients to improved security conditions and harvests in some parts of the state in 2025. According to the organisation, some families who had left the Jibia and Batsari areas because of insecurity were able to return home and resume farming.
Katsina State has also opened additional outpatient and inpatient treatment centres. MSF helped expand their operations by training medical staff and strengthening services. According to the organisation, the network of outpatient centres in the state grew from a few in 2021 to about 400 in 2026.
The state authorities allocated 1 billion naira to combat malnutrition, including for the purchase of ready-to-use therapeutic food. UNICEF, according to MSF representative Jean-Clément Ichimwé, pledged to mobilise a similar amount through the Child Nutrition Fund. At the same time, the organisation warned that shortages of funding and therapeutic food continue to threaten treatment programmes.
