- Save the Children warns that one million additional children in Nigeria may face acute malnutrition by April 2025 without urgent action
- Current data indicates 5.4 million Nigerian children are at risk of malnutrition, a 25% increase compared to earlier this year
Save the Children International (SCI) has warned that if urgent action is not taken, an additional one million children in Nigeria will face acute malnutrition by April 2025.
This warning follows the impact of severe flooding, rising violence, and widespread food shortages, which are worsening the hunger crisis across the country.
New data from Cadre Harmonisé, a leading authority on hunger in the Sahel and West Africa, reveals that 5.4 million Nigerian children are at risk of acute malnutrition by next April.
This marks a 25% increase from the 4.4 million children affected in April this year. SCI estimates that 1.8 million of these children could suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), a life-threatening condition that weakens immunity and makes even mild illnesses potentially fatal—an alarming 80% rise in SAM cases.
SCI’s Country Director for Nigeria, Duncan Harvey, expressed deep concern over the crisis, stating, “In Nigeria, the hunger crisis is hitting unprecedented levels.
Climate disasters, insecurity, and rising prices are leaving over 16 million children at risk of hunger. Urgent action is needed to reverse this unacceptable trend of child malnutrition and secure a brighter future for Nigeria’s children.”
SCI called on Nigerian and international governments to address food insecurity by stabilizing food prices, enhancing protection for farmers against violence, and improving support for those impacted by climate-related disasters.
“Governments must also prioritize resilience-building for communities facing climate threats and improve awareness and early warnings for climate-induced crises,” SCI urged.
Personal accounts shared by affected individuals illustrate the crisis’s impact. Aisha, a mother of six at SCI’s clinic in Damaturu, explained, “My daughter is severely malnourished. I cannot produce breast milk, and her health has deteriorated badly. We are grateful to Save the Children for their support here.”
Hajara, a 15-year-old campaigner from Katsina, voiced concern, saying, “Food insecurity is impacting children in our community. With bandit attacks everywhere, farmers can’t work, and food is harder to find.
Many children go to bed hungry, which affects our energy and focus in school. We need our leaders to restore security and ensure every child can access nutritious food.”
During this year’s lean season, the World Food Program (WFP) projected that 31.8 million Nigerians would face severe food insecurity between harvests. Next year, that number is expected to climb to 33 million, including over 16 million children struggling to find their next meal.
According to UN estimates, hunger has risen significantly in Nigeria, affecting 15% of the population, up from 7% in 2020. The situation is particularly critical in the northwest and northeast, where conflict and insecurity have led to displacement and disrupted livelihoods.
Nigeria’s susceptibility to climate change is worsening the crisis, with expanding desertification reducing farmland and this year’s worst flooding in 30 years displacing 1.2 million people and claiming over 300 lives.
Save the Children, which has operated in Nigeria since 2001, has been responding to the humanitarian crisis in the northeast since 2014.
The organization provides food, water, nutrition, protection, reproductive health care, and education to vulnerable families and supports government policy reforms in health, education, and social protection.
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