No fewer than 6.4 million children under the age of five in northern Nigeria are battling acute malnutrition due to conflict, displacement, and food insecurity, particularly in hard-to-reach communities in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed this information, published on the website, saying children, alongside pregnant and lactating women, remain the most vulnerable to the crisis, where insecurity and displacement have severely disrupted livelihoods and food production.
The ICRC emphasised that addressing malnutrition in northern Nigeria requires a comprehensive approach that combines medical care with improved access to food, livelihoods, and region remains significant as insecurity continues to disrupt farming, trade, and daily life for millions of families.
According to the ICRC, thousands of children are receiving stabilisation treatment. Children from communities across the north-east, north-west, and north-central regions are suffering from acute malnutrition, making it one of the most severe humanitarian consequences of the 15-year armed conflict in the country’s north-east.
The organisation also revealed that 125 communities in north-east Nigeria benefited from community-based nutrition programmes that aimed to detect malnutrition early and improve feeding practices for infants and young children.
Apart from clinical treatment, the ICRC said it is expanding “livelihood support to help families tackle the root causes of malnutrition, particularly food shortages linked to conflict and displacement.
“In 2025, more than 348,000 people, including
Over 16,000 children under five and more than 19,000 pregnant and lactating women were treated for severe acute malnutrition in health facilities supported by the ICRC across the three States.
“During the 2025 lean season, when household food reserves are typically exhausted before the next harvest, more than 17,000 vulnerable families received three rounds of cash assistance to help them meet urgent food needs.
“Agricultural support programmes also reached over 168,000 people, providing climate-smart seeds, farming inputs, and solar-powered irrigation systems to boost food production and improve household income.”
The organisation further distributed hygiene kits to about 26,000 people to improve sanitation and reduce the spread of diseases that often worsen malnutrition among children.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
Latest posts by Hassan Umar Shallpella (Regional Correspondent) (see all)
- 6.4 Million Children In Northern Nigeria Faces Malnutrition - March 12, 2026
- Plateau State Gov Signs N4bn MoU With BOI To Strengthen Enterprises - March 12, 2026
- US Alerts It’s Citizens In Nigeria On Terror Attacks - March 10, 2026