Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, treated more than 87,000 children for acute malnutrition in Katsina State between January and August 2026, warning that the figure remained alarmingly high despite a slight decline from the previous year.
The international medical humanitarian organisation said in a statement issued to journalists on Wednesday by its Communication Officer, Abdul Kareem, that its teams treated more than 95,000 children for acute malnutrition during the same period in 2025.
It added that nearly 15,500 children required hospitalisation for severe or complicated conditions associated with malnutrition in the first eight months of this year.
MSF, which operates its largest nutrition programme in Katsina, said the figures highlighted the continuing nutritional crisis in northern Nigeria and the urgent need for sustained funding to prevent avoidable deaths among children.
“This is lower than in 2025, when we treated more than 95,000 children over the same period, but the figure remains extremely high and is even above what we saw two years ago,” MSF’s Medical Coordinator in Nigeria, Dr Raphael Kananga, said.
The organisation also disclosed that nearly 15,500 children were hospitalised for severe or complicated malnutrition between January and August 2026, compared with approximately 16,500 during the same period in 2025.
Although hospital admissions have declined slightly, MSF warned that the situation remained critical, particularly because of the prevalence of kwashiorkor, a severe form of malnutrition characterised by swelling of the body and skin lesions.
According to the organisation, the condition is often difficult for parents and caregivers to recognise, delaying access to appropriate medical treatment.
To address the challenge, MSF established a specialised unit within its inpatient therapeutic feeding centre in Katsina to provide care for children suffering from kwashiorkor.
Badiyya Shafi’u, whose child received treatment for the condition in Katsina, described the difficulty she experienced in identifying the illness before seeking medical assistance.
“I didn’t think it was malnutrition. This kind of condition is difficult to recognise,” she said.
Shafi’u said her child’s condition had improved significantly following treatment, explaining that the child, who previously could not sit without assistance, was gradually regaining physical strength.
“Before, he could not even sit up on his own. If someone helped him sit, he would immediately fall back down.
“But now I can see an improvement because he is able to sit up by himself. When we help him stand, he can remain standing, and he is even trying to walk properly again,” she said.
MSF attributed the persistent malnutrition crisis in northern Nigeria to several factors, including poverty, inflation, insecurity, population displacement, disease outbreaks and extreme weather events such as droughts and floods.
However, the organisation noted that improved security and better harvests in Katsina in 2025 had contributed to a slight improvement in the nutritional situation this year.
MSF’s Partnership Coordinator, Jean-Clément Ishimwe, said the return of some displaced residents to their communities had improved access to food and agricultural activities.
“Many people displaced from Jibia or Batsari local government areas because of insecurity had been living in areas such as Katsina, Mashi and Mani.
“Since last year, however, they have been able to return home and resume farming. As a result, they can now access food more easily, and we are seeing fewer of them in our treatment centres,” Ishimwe said.
The organisation also acknowledged efforts by the Katsina State Government and other humanitarian partners to expand nutrition services and improve access to treatment.
It said the state government had established additional outpatient and inpatient treatment centres in 2026, while MSF supported the facilities by training healthcare workers and providing technical assistance.
According to Ishimwe, the Katsina State Government has committed N1bn to the fight against malnutrition, representing double its previous allocation, with particular emphasis on procuring ready-to-use therapeutic food used in treating affected children.
He added that the United Nations Children’s Fund had pledged to mobilise a similar amount through its Child Nutrition Fund.
“If these commitments are fulfilled, this will be an encouraging sign that deserves to be supported and expanded across Katsina State and throughout northern Nigeria,” Ishimwe said.
MSF, however, warned that inadequate funding and limited access to ready-to-use therapeutic food continued to undermine efforts to tackle malnutrition, despite the expansion of Katsina’s network of ambulatory treatment centres from only a few in 2021 to approximately 400 currently.
It said cuts in aid funding by the United States and several European countries, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, had further compounded the challenges facing humanitarian nutrition programmes.
Citing UNICEF figures, MSF said fewer than half of children with severe acute malnutrition worldwide had access to treatment, despite the availability of interventions capable of preventing deaths and reducing the risk of long-term developmental complications.
The organisation also cited concerns raised by the Nutrition Society of Nigeria that nearly two million Nigerian children were affected by severe acute malnutrition, with only about two in every 10 receiving treatment.
Across its nutrition projects in seven northern states, MSF said its teams treated 57,999 children for malnutrition in inpatient facilities and another 225,778 through outpatient programmes during the first eight months of 2026.
The organisation called on the Federal and state governments, international donors and humanitarian partners to sustain and expand financial commitments to nutrition programmes to ensure children receive timely and appropriate care.
It warned that without large-scale and sustained investment, malnutrition would continue to threaten the lives and development of thousands of children across northern Nigeria.
