MSF detects the beginning of an “alarming” food crisis among the population of the Nigerian state of Borno

The NGO confirms an “unprecedented influx” of malnourished children to its center since last May

July 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has witnessed “an unprecedented influx of malnourished children” to its nutritional center in Maiduguri, the capital of the Nigerian state of Borno, in the north of the country, which suggests the existence of an “alarming nutritional crisis” in the state and warns that, given the current period of food shortages, it could end up being “much more serious than in previous years if current trends continue”.

Specifically, MSF has admitted 2,140 malnourished children to receive hospital care in the intensive therapeutic feeding center (ITFC), approximately 50% more than in the same period last year.

For six weeks in May and June, even though the peak of the food shortage period had only just begun, more malnourished patients arrived than at any time since the project opened in 2017, even at the peak of previous years. . Through May, the outpatient therapeutic feeding program saw a 25% increase in admissions compared to last year.

In response, MSF teams have expanded the ITFC’s existing capacity from 120 beds to 200 beds. Even with this emergency measure, during some days in June there were not enough beds for all the malnourished children who entered the center.

“It is essential that action is taken now, before the peak of seasonal malnutrition, to avoid an even worse situation,” said Shaukat Muttaqi, head of operations for Doctors Without Borders in Nigeria.

“We are at the beginning of the food shortage period and our centers are already overloaded with more patients than we have seen monthly since the project was launched in 2017,” Muttaqi explained before warning that “previous trends tell us that the worst is coming”.

Other humanitarian organizations have also been operating at or beyond their capacities and, in some cases, have had to reduce services due to lack of funding; including the closure of 16 necessary outpatient feeding centers.

“We need to see an urgent increase in hospital capacity to treat severely malnourished children, but this needs to be done in parallel with a large scale-up of community-level interventions to stay ahead of the worst-case scenario,” explains Muttaqi.

The NGO explains that in Borno state, malnutrition is a chronic concern that encompasses many aspects, and has been driven by the cumulative impact of displacement, insecurity, poverty, lack of access to health care, and other factors.

Historically, it is most acute between late June and early September during the lean season, the period between planting crops and harvesting. Additional factors that add more pressure – such as low immunization coverage or lack of access to clean water, hygiene and medical care – are very often combined with chronic food insecurity and produce devastating effects among the smallest.

Periodic outbreaks of disease, particularly measles and cholera, as well as seasonal spikes in malaria, can further aggravate the situation. MSF recalls that Nigeria experienced an exceptionally large cholera outbreak last year, and immunization rates among children in Borno state are alarmingly low. Access to health care is also a daily challenge for the population, particularly for those who are displaced.