ICRC Raises Alarm as Malnutrition Cases Approach 20,000 in North-East Nigeria

Admissions for malnutrition at health facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross in North-East Nigeria rose by 18 per cent in one year, with young children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers the worst affected.

The ICRC said admissions at six health centres and four hospitals it supports increased from about 17,000 between January and September 2025 to nearly 20,000 over the same period in 2026.

The organisation disclosed this in a statement signed by its representatives, Aliyu Dawobe in Abuja and Mateo Jaramillo in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday.

The ICRC released the statement to commemorate World Food Day on Friday.

World Food Day is celebrated annually on October 16, as a global platform to spotlight collective actions and progress in building sustainable food systems.

The organisation’s warning comes amid worsening food insecurity in Nigeria, where more than 34 million people are projected to face hunger in 2026, according to United Nations analysis cited in the statement.

The analysis puts Nigeria among the world’s hunger hotspots of greatest concern, alongside Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza.

The ICRC said the effects of 15 years of conflict had contributed to the country’s growing food insecurity.

Giving details, the ICRC said the increase in malnutrition cases was most pronounced in Mubi, Adamawa State, where admissions rose by nearly a quarter, from about 4,600 in the first nine months of 2025 to approximately 5,700 in the corresponding period of 2026.

At the Mubi Stabilisation Centre, the ICRC reported mothers queueing with their young children for nutritional assessments.

The ICRC gave accounts of the difficulties faced by families across North-East Nigeria, where armed conflict, climate shocks and economic pressures had disrupted livelihoods and made it harder for households to provide adequate food.

It added that insecurity had also affected farming activities, forcing some farmers to restrict cultivation to areas close to their homes.

A farmer, Saminu Ijaduwa, was quoted as reporting that the threat posed by explosive devices had made distant farmlands dangerous to access.

“Due to the conflict, going one kilometre out of town to farm could be highly risky. You might not return,” Ijaduwa said.

The organisation explained that when families could not safely access their farms and markets were disrupted, obtaining sufficient food became increasingly difficult, with serious consequences for young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

To address malnutrition, the ICRC, in partnership with the Nigerian Red Cross, said it supported 15 primary healthcare centres and four hospitals, and assisted more than 200 communities in treating malnutrition and implemented programmes to improve food security.

“The interventions include providing farmers with seeds adapted to drought and flooding, promoting crop diversity and teaching mothers how to prepare nutritious meals at home.

“One of the initiatives involves producing a blend of sorghum, millet, soybeans, groundnuts and moringa, known as Tom Brown,” the statement read.

With the intervention, the ICRC said it had helped more than 13,000 young children recover from moderate acute malnutrition.

“Mothers are also taught how to prepare the mixture themselves to ensure they can continue providing nutritious food for their children,” the statement added.