The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warns that urgent action is needed to save lives in Nigeria, where the malnutrition crisis is escalating. Without immediate intervention, 1.8 million children could die from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS) reports that 84 percent of healthcare facilities in six northern states have insufficient supplies of lifesaving ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF).
According to the IFRC, acute malnutrition now contributes to nearly half of child deaths under five in the affected areas. The north-east and north-west regions are the hardest hit, with millions of children and pregnant women facing malnutrition due to limited access to food and unsafe water, as well as the consequences of ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, many aid agencies are having to withdraw or halt their programming due to extreme funding cuts. An estimated two million children in Nigeria currently suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), yet only 20 percent receive treatment.
In July, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that it would be forced to halt all emergency food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people — including hundreds of thousands of children — in northeastern Nigeria by the end of the month.
SAM, also known as severe wasting, is the deadliest form of malnutrition. Children diagnosed with SAM require immediate, intensive treatment because they are extremely vulnerable to life-threatening complications and have a high mortality rate if they receive inadequate care.
Malnutrition also weakens the immune system, making children more susceptible to infectious diseases. Contributing factors to the malnutrition crisis include insecurity, which limits access to farmlands; extreme weather conditions; and high food prices.
New data collected in July 2025 by the Nigerian Red Cross shows that more than 47 percent of assessed children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition in three local government areas (LGAs): Zango and Kankara in Katsina State, and Wamako in Sokoto State, both states are in the north-west region.
“Without additional support hundreds, if not thousands, of children will needlessly die of malnutrition in coming months.,” said Francis Salako, Head of the IFRC delegation in Abuja, in a statement on Wednesday.
“The fact that, in some LGAs, around 50 percent of children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and may need to be hospitalized to survive, is alarming. We need to raise the alarm immediately. Things are going to get worse.”
The latest data also shows that more children in Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto states are malnourished — moderately or severely — than are not.
Alongside the concerning statistics reported in Katsina and Sokoto, there are also alarming moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) figures in Maradun, Zamfara, where nearly 50 percent of children are affected.
While the UN is closing half of its health clinics in north-east Nigeria, states like Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara, in the north-west, have been facing a silent emergency for years. Nigeria is facing increased violence from Islamic militants, particularly in the north-east, as well as large-scale criminal banditry in the north-west.
Ongoing armed conflict, banditry, violence, the effects of climate change, escalating inflation, and rising food and non-food commodity prices are driving hunger and malnutrition across the north.
For over 15 years, the north-east Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe have struggled with an armed insurgency by the group Boko Haram, as well as widespread insecurity caused by armed gangs, resulting in one of the most severe humanitarian crises in Africa.
Humanitarian agencies warn that the ongoing crisis in north-west Nigeria is being neglected. The north-west region has traditionally been excluded from the broader humanitarian response in Nigeria, and it is excluded again in 2025.
Consequently, few aid organizations work in the region. The Nigeria Red Cross Society and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) are two exceptions.
MSF has previously urged the UN to include the northwest in its humanitarian response plan. At the end of 2024, the organization conducted a survey which showed that some LGAs in Katsina had SAM rates of more than 14 percent, in stark contrast to the rates seen in neighboring areas in July of this year.
The NRCS is providing vital health, nutrition, and protection services on the ground, but urgent funding is needed to scale up their efforts. It is financing RUTF and channeling community volunteers into healthcare facilities to support the treatment of SAM.
The IFRC has launched an emergency appeal to support the NRCS in scaling up its response to malnutrition with the aim of reaching one million people.
The humanitarian network warns that without improved community-level surveillance and monitoring of MAM cases, the burden placed on local healthcare services, with the appropriate facilities to treat SAM, will be insurmountable.
Red Cross volunteers are embedded within their communities and are therefore well placed to conduct this monitoring, according to IFRC. In addition, volunteers are teaching women to make a supplementary food called “Tom Brown” - a locally produced flour mix of grains, soy and peanuts - which can prevent moderate malnutrition evolving into its severe from.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world's largest humanitarian network. Together with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and 192 national societies, the IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies provide emergency aid to people in need in the event of natural disasters, armed conflicts, and other emergency situations.
The IFRC recently launched the "Africa Zero Hunger Campaign", which started in six countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Zimbabwe. This campaign focuses on addressing hunger in Africa through lasting, community-driven initiatives.
Further information
Website: IFRC Emergency Appeal: Acute malnutrition in Nigeria
https://www.ifrc.org/emergency/nigeria-acute-malnutrition
Website: IFRC Campaign Africa Zero Hunger
https://www.ifrc.org/get-involved/campaign-us/africa-zero-hunger-united-durable-solutions