The humanitarian situation in the northeast is worsening as the suspension of nutrition services by international partners leaves hundreds of thousands of children at risk of severe malnutrition, UNICEF has reported.
The United Nations agency said the decision by the World Food Programme, Save the Children and Action Against Hunger to halt their support has exposed vulnerable families to hunger and disease.
“Nearly 31 million Nigerians are now facing acute hunger. Without urgent funding, we will not be able to sustain lifesaving services,” UNICEF warned.
In Maiduguri, the once crowded Outpatient Therapeutic Programme at the 1000 Housing Estate Primary Healthcare Clinic has been closed since March. The officer in charge, Fati Babagana, told UNICEF that children are being discharged from the stabilisation centre without follow-up treatment.
“Before, we admitted between 50 and 60 children every week. Now we admit more than 70. Without the outpatient programme, children are returning with measles and other complications because mothers cannot travel to distant centres,” she said.
She added, “We stopped food demonstrations for mothers since March because there was no funding to continue. We cannot watch children waste away when we know what can save them. If help comes, we can keep them alive. If it does not, many will die.”
At the 700 Housing Estate clinic, cobwebs and broken furniture now fill the rooms where children once received treatment. A health worker told UNICEF, “What you see here is not just an empty building. It is a symbol of children left without care.”
In Monguno, Action Against Hunger suspended activities in May. Across Borno and Yobe States, more than 150 nutrition clinics have been shut, directly affecting over 300,000 children under two years old. UNICEF stressed, “They are the most vulnerable. They need this support to survive.
The agency said its humanitarian response remains severely underfunded. “Out of a 255 million dollar requirement for Nigeria, we have received less than 100 million dollars. That means two-thirds of the plan is unfunded. Stocks are running out. Families are waiting, but we cannot deliver at the scale needed,” UNICEF stated.
The Yobe State government has approved N165 million to procure ready-to-use therapeutic food through the Child Nutrition Fund. The Borno State government is also working with UNICEF to sustain services.
Francis Butichi, UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, said, “The needs remain vast. From sanitation to nutrition, families are suffering. The burden on the health system is overwhelming. If the outpatient programme at the 1000 Housing Estate clinic returns, fewer children will relapse into sickness. That would be a victory for children.”
