The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has recorded a 24% increase in the admission of severely malnourished children and women in the health facilities it supported in the Lake Chad region of West Africa, especially in the northeastern part of Nigeria, the most populous state in Africa between the third quarter of 2023 to the same in 2024.
The increase is part of a trend affecting the entire Lake Chad region where an estimated 6.1 million people will not have enough to eat in the coming months as a result of Armed conflicts and the effects of climate change.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday by the Public Relations Officer of ICRC, Aliyu Dawobe.
According to him, the rise in the number of people without enough food mirrors an increase in violence, which has severely impacted communities’ ability to grow crops and access markets.
The statement also revealed that violent incidents in the Lake Chad region in the first half of 2024 rose 58% compared with the same period in 2023.
“Climate hazards are also preventing people from growing crops and accessing their farmland and markets, contributing to a food security crisis being felt across Lake Chad – in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
“In northeast Nigeria, the start of the harvest season coincided this year with heavy floods that washed away seeds and all hope of harvest after an especially dry lean season.
Yann Bonzon, ICRC’s head of delegation in Nigeria, stated, “The consequences of spiraling violence and climate variability are devastating for families trying to feed themselves. We see the proof in the health facilities we support, where the rising number of children with severe acute malnutrition is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, they only represent a fraction of those in need across the region.”
“In September, the ICRC expanded its efforts to curb malnutrition rates by supporting two additional health centers for malnourished children in Yobe and Adamawa states, northeast Nigeria.
“This will allow medical teams to provide a range of key services including consultations, nutritional screenings, and treatment for malnourished children with complications.
“In northeast Nigeria in 2024, 187,000 people benefited from assistance in response to food shortages, delivered by the ICRC and the Nigeria Red Cross Society.
“The ICRC reminds all parties to armed conflicts that it is their responsibility under international humanitarian law (IHL) to ensure that people living in the territories under their control can meet their essential needs, including food, water, medical care, and access to farmland and markets.
“It is worthy to note that the 24% increase indicates both severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with and without medical complications treated in ICRC-supported facilities, from 6,824 cases in Q3 of 2023 to 8,470 cases in Q3 of 2024.”
“The number of children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with medical complications treated in ICRC-supported facilities has increased from 1,212 in the third quarter of 2023 to 1,691 in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 39.5%.
“Furthermore, in 2024, the number of children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) with medical complications treated in ICRC-supported facilities has increased by 225% between the first and third quarter of the year, from 252 cases to 897.
“Likewise, 14,000 malnourished pregnant and lactating women were admitted for nutrition treatment as of the end of the third quarter of 2024, a 7.6% increase when compared to the same period last year.
