Angela Onwuzoo
The United Nations Children’s Fund has predicted that the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition in Nigeria is expected to rise from 1.74 million in 2022 to 2 million in 2023.
Citing the October 2022 Cadre Harmonisé, a Government led and UN-supported food and nutrition analysis carried out twice a year, UNICEF identified continued conflict, climate change, inflation and rising food prices as key drivers of this alarming trend.
UNICEF in its latest report said food access has been affected by persistent violence in the northeast states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe; armed banditry and kidnapping in states such as Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue and Niger.
This is even as a statement by Save the Children International, a humanitarian organisation, further noted that a relentless wave of attacks against farmers in Nigeria by armed groups is hindering critical food supplies and threatening to push the country deeper into a devastating hunger crisis this year.
The increased attacks, the organisation noted are leading to displacement, market disruptions and loss of livelihoods.
Armed groups have killed more than 128 farmers and kidnapped 37 others across Nigeria between January and June 2023, according to the Nigerian Security Tracker.
In June, 19 farmers were killed by non-state armed groups in Nigeria’s northern Borno State alone, it further revealed.
UNICEF reminded the government and donors that children are the most vulnerable to food insecurity.
Besides the rise in the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition, UNICEF in addition, also said nearly 25 million Nigerian are at risk of facing hunger between June and August 2023 (lean season) if urgent action is not taken to address the problem.
This is a projected increase from the estimated 17 million people currently at risk of food insecurity, according to the organisation.
The UN agency pointed out that of the 17 million people who are currently food insecure, three million are in the northeast BAY states.
Consequently, without immediate action, UNICEF is worried that this figure might increase to 4.4 million in the lean season.
This, according to the report, includes highly vulnerable displaced populations and returnees who are already struggling to survive a large-scale humanitarian crisis in which 8.3 million people need assistance.
Commenting on the report, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale, said, “The food security and nutrition situation across Nigeria is deeply concerning. I have visited nutrition stabilization centres filled with children who are fighting to stay alive. We must act now to ensure they and others get the lifesaving support they need.
“Children are the most vulnerable to food insecurity. Approximately six of the 17 million food-insecure Nigerians today are children under five living in Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara states.
“There is a serious risk of mortality among children attributed to acute malnutrition. In the BAY states alone, the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition is expected to increase from 1.74 million in 2022 to two million in 2023.”
Although Nigeria recently declared a state of emergency on food insecurity to help tackle food shortages, stabilise rising prices and increasing protection for farmers facing violence from armed groups, are part of the solution to the nation’s worsening food crises, Save the Children noted.
A farmer for 35 years in northeast Nigeria, identified as Bulama in the statement issued by Save the Children’s Country Director for Nigeria, Famari Barro, said this year has been particularly difficult.
The statement said armed men have kidnapped or killed most of the farmers Bulama has worked with
“On different occasions where we will be in the field farming, armed groups have attacked and kidnapped farmers who are our friends and brothers, requesting ransom – most times it’s an amount no villager can afford.
“They have killed and stolen our farm produce, leaving us helpless and with nothing to take home. The hunger and starvation most of us suffer in this community are because insurgents deprive us of access to the farmlands, and even when we risk our lives in our fields, they steal everything and allow us to starve”, Bulama said.
The Save the Children’s Country Director for Nigeria noted, “These violent attacks against farmers in Nigeria are exacerbating the already dire hunger crisis in the country, especially in the north where millions of children do not know where their next meal will come from. Armed groups committing these ruthless acts are not only disrupting food production but also pushing children to the brink.
“Urgent action must prioritise the needs of children to stop this devastating trend and protect innocent lives. If not, armed groups will continue to carry out brutal attacks, drive food prices, and push more families to starvation.”
As part of global support for Nigeria to address the food crisis, the UN had in June 2023 allocated $20 million dollars to urgently ramp up the response to the alarming food security and nutrition crisis in the North-East of Nigeria.
UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, disclosed this at a news conference held at UN headquarters in New York.
“With nine million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund and $11 million from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund, we will support the Government-led response efforts across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
“Assistance includes ready-to-eat food, access to clean water, health care and agriculture support,’’ he said.
According to humanitarian partners, almost 700,000 children under-five are likely to suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition this year in this region and more than half a million people may face emergency levels of food insecurity during the lean season from June to August.
Haq said that the emergency funding would help jumpstart the response, but humanitarian partners need more to prevent widespread hunger and malnutrition.
“The $1.3 billion humanitarian response plan for Nigeria is only 26 per cent funded,’’ he added.
A registered dietician-nutritionist at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nwabumma Asouzu, says malnutrition has hidden dangerous impact on the well-being and survival of children.
Besides making children more susceptible to diseases and infections, the nutrition expert said malnutrition slows wound healing and delays recovery of children suffering from infections.
Asouzu disclosed this during an interview with PUNCH HealthWise and warned against ignoring the consequences of malnutrition in children, even as a statement by the United Nations agencies affirmed that Nigeria and 14 other countries were home of 30 million malnourished children.
According to the dietician, malnutrition is a serious public health problem and leads to stunting in childrenstr.
he noted that stunting is a major contributor to child morbidity and mortality.
Speaking on the issue, Asouzu gave insight into the health and economic implications of malnutrition, saying, “Poverty amplifies the risk of, and risks from malnutrition. People who are poor are more likely to be affected by different forms of malnutrition.
“Also, malnutrition increases health care costs, reduces productivity, and slows economic growth, which can perpetuate a cycle of poverty and ill-health.
“Childhood malnutrition, including overnutrition, increases a child’s susceptibility to several different infections and often delays recovery from these infections thus posing a large burden of disease in developing countries.
“Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and they result in diet-related non-communicable diseases.”
Asouzu said the consequences of poor nutrition are enormous, noting that children who are malnourished would be stunted and underweight.
“These are serious forms of malnutrition. It can affect the cognitive development of a child and the child will not be smart.Stunting is an enormous drain on economic productivity and growth<” she added.
In worse case scenarios, Asouzu said, children who are stunted are likely to have stunted children.
“Stunting is often intergenerational – Children who are stunted are also more likely as adults to have stunted children.
“A stunted child is also more prone to becoming overweight as an adult, posing more health risks”, Asouzu noted.
Currently, she said Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under-five.
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