Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is facing an overwhelming influx of severely malnourished children at its medical facilities in seven northern states.
The affected states, according to a statement issued by the MSF Field Communication Officer in Nigeria, Abdulkareem Yakubu, include Kano, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi.
The global humanitarian organisation indicated that the MSF in-patient facilities in Northern Nigeria have recently recorded an “Extraordinary increase in admissions of severely malnourished children with life-threatening complications,” surpassing last year’s figures by over 100 percent in some locations.
“For the MSF teams, this is an alarming indication of a premature peak of the lean season and the increase in acute malnutrition that accompanies it, typically anticipated in July. We are resorting to treating patients on mattresses on the floor because our facilities are full. Children are dying.
“If immediate action is not taken, more lives hang in the balance. Everyone needs to step in to save lives and allow the children of Northern Nigeria to grow free from malnutrition and its disastrous long-term, if not fatal, consequences,” said MSF’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Simba Tirima.
MSF called for urgent humanitarian assistance, urging Nigerian authorities, international organisations, and donors to take immediate action to diagnose and treat malnourished children and engage in long-term initiatives to address the root causes of the crisis.
DailyTrust
