The warning by the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) that deepening humanitarian funding cuts are threatening Nigeria's already fragile healthcare response should be taken seriously. In its 2025 Country Activity Report released last week, the MSF (Doctors Without Borders) described the current health situation in Nigeria as increasingly dire amid worsening economic hardship, insecurity and mounting pressure on overstretched medical services. In 2024 alone, according to the MSF, nearly 300,000 children with severe acute malnutrition were admitted in outpatient units across northern Nigeria--more than half of its global caseload. But perhaps most concerning is the MSF revelation about the growing numbers of malnutrition admissions recorded by the organisation in Nigeria in recent years.
The 2025 data tell a harrowing story. "With over 440,000 children put on treatment, it is the year with the highest admissions for malnutrition we've had in Nigeria in recent years," MSF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ahmed Aldikhari, said. "Conflict and insecurity, displacement, several consecutive years of inflation, flooding, drought and rising food prices continue to affect families' ability to access food and healthcare. Humanitarian funding cuts are also increasing pressure on already overstretched services in high-need areas."
Stunted growth implies a marked increase in the child's susceptibility to infections and contributes to child mortality. Invariably, pregnant women who are not adequately nourished eventually give birth to babies with low weight thus putting their survival at risk. Unfortunately, this is a recurring challenge that health authorities in the country seem not to be paying a serious attention to. As far back as 2008, the report of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) had indicated that one out of every three children under the age of five in the country is stunted and suffering from chronic malnutrition.
Nigerians, as a minimum, deserve a life free from hunger, in a country so blessed with arable land and natural resources. Today in the country, hunger is both a cause and consequence of poverty, as people on low incomes tend to have worse diets, while people who lack adequate nutrition struggle harder to extricate themselves from poverty. Therefore, for effective health and social protection, mothers must be encouraged to adopt exclusive breastfeeding habits for their babies in the initial six months of their lives. Thereafter, complementary feeding can be introduced for 24 months, then the consumption of various nutrients such as Vitamin A, Iodised salt and zinc, amongst others.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Political commitment is therefore necessary to ensure advocacy on the adverse implications of malnutrition and how to avoid its devastating consequences. Partnership with civil society and academic institutions with a focus on food and nutrition is also an imperative. Such commitment could come by way of mapping out clear strategies for up-scaling nutrition in the public sphere. This should consist of clear roles and responsibilities for the various stakeholders, with milestones for mainstreaming nutrition into agriculture, fortifying basic foods with essential minerals or vitamins, mobilising communities for action on growing more beneficial foods, and the perils of malnutrition and of not meeting any of the enumerated indicators.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Beyond rhetoric, what is needed is an urgent action to protect the most vulnerable. Our governments, at all levels, need to sit up and confront malnutrition with resolute decisiveness if the future of our children is to be secure. They must address the crushing indices and causes of malnutrition that have continued to deprive over half of our children (and mothers) of a healthy and productive life span. They have an obligation in ensuring that the future of Nigerian children is secured by tackling those things inhibiting their proper upbringing and social welfare.
