The NGO affirms that in some areas of the state the levels of global acute malnutrition have doubled since last year and calls for increased aid
Dec. 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned this Monday of the “extremely critical” levels of malnutrition in the Nigerian state of Katsina, located in the north of Nigeria and where more than 800 children have already died from malnutrition in so far this year.
The NGO has indicated that three out of ten children suffer from acute global malnutrition in Katsina, according to a study carried out in July through the medical data of 2,066 children in the areas of Katsina, Jibia and Mashi, a report that shows that in some points the levels have doubled since last year, when the situation was already considered extremely serious.
In addition, rates of severe acute malnutrition, the most dangerous form of malnutrition, are also at “worrying” levels and range from 6.8 to 14.4 percent, leading to the determination that residents in these areas are are at an “extremely critical” level according to the Integrated Classification of Food Safety Phases (ICF).
“The results of this survey are terrifying,” said MSF medical coordinator Raphael Kananga. “We have been recording increasingly high and alarming indicators for a couple of years, and now we are going from critical to extremely critical levels,” he warned.
In this sense, Kananga has specified that fourteen percent of children were “seriously malnourished” in Mashi, a prevalence that “can only” be described as “catastrophic.” “We need organizations to increase their efforts, not decrease them. Otherwise, we will see a record number of children die,” he stressed.
MSF, which runs four therapeutic treatment centers for malnourished children in Katsina, has treated more children this year and in more severe states of malnutrition, which has also meant a “huge” increase in the number of children who have had to be hospitalized.
In fact, more than 100,000 malnourished children have been treated between January and December, which represents an increase of 20 percent compared to the same period last year, with an increase of more than 50 percent in hospital admissions compared to 2022 and 2023.
The organization has stated that since the study, carried out by MSF in collaboration with Epicenter, the epidemiological section of the NGO, and the Ministry of Health of Katsina state, the situation has not improved, with a “significant” increase of admissions due to malnutrition in hospitals and health centers.
Added to this situation is that the aid allocated to this area of Nigeria has never been enough, with a progressive reduction of funds and resources at this time, which is why MSF has asked to “take a step forward” and “provide greater support.” to prevent the situation from continuing to worsen in the coming year 2025″.
In this way, the organization has insisted that the forecasts for a further deterioration of the situation are “very worrying”, fueled by high inflation, the devaluation of the local currency and the decrease in agricultural yields, which causes an increase of the cost of living amid insecurity and the impact of climate change.
Adding to the situation is an equally worrying context in other areas of the country, such as the state of Zamfara (northeast), where at the beginning of the year it was detected that 27 percent of children were suffering from acute global malnutrition.
“This is a trend that we are observing in all our nutrition centers in northern Nigeria,” argued Kananga, who specified that “in total, medical teams working in seven states in northern Nigeria have treated 294,000 children with malnutrition between January and September of this year.
“This represents 43 percent more than the number of children treated in the same period in 2023,” he noted, in line with the words of the MSF representative in Nigeria, Simba Tirima, who has insisted that the results of the latest Studies “confirm the worst fears” after raising the alarm on several occasions about “the growing malnutrition crisis in northern Nigeria.”
Thus, Tirima emphasized that “conditions have not improved, but have deteriorated significantly.” “This year, our teams in towns such as Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and Maiduguri have been overwhelmed by an unprecedented number of malnourished children requiring urgent care,” he lamented.
“We have used all available resources, from tents where we can place extra mattresses at times of greatest hospital congestion, but the influx of patients arriving at our hospitals has often been overwhelming,” he said, before warning that the The situation could worsen “drastically” in 2025 “without significant and immediate action.”
“We recognize the recent and ongoing efforts of the Federal Ministry of Health and Welfare to address malnutrition, but many more steps need to be taken,” he said. “If all stakeholders increase funding and ensure a reliable supply of therapeutic foods, there is hope that we can save the lives of many children next year,” he concluded.
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