Hunger crisis: UNICEF reveals 11 million Nigerian children at risk

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised alarm over the state of child nutrition in Nigeria, revealing that about 11 million children under the age of five are experiencing severe food poverty.

According to UNICEF, children in this category are 50 per cent more likely to suffer from wasting — a life-threatening form of malnutrition.

In Kano State alone, over 51.9 per cent of children are stunted, while more than 10 per cent are wasted or too thin for their height.

The revelation came during the official handover of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) at the Takai Primary Healthcare Centre, a joint initiative between the Kano State Government and UNICEF under the Child Nutrition Matching Fund.

Speaking on behalf of UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in Kano, Rahma Rihood Mohammed Farah, Health Manager Dr. Serekeberehan Seyoum Deres explained that the early childhood stage is the most critical for nutritional support, as it determines physical growth and brain development.

He called on Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to increase resources for nutrition programmes in 2025, approve six months of paid maternity leave, and procure more commodities, including deworming tablets and multiple micronutrient supplements.

Kano, Seyoum noted, has been the highest contributor to the Child Nutrition Fund in Nigeria, releasing N500 million, which UNICEF matched to procure 12,948 cartons of RUTF — enough to treat over 17,000 severely malnourished children.

Governor Yusuf praised UNICEF’s support, disclosing that all 44 local government areas in the state now benefit from one form of nutrition intervention or another. He pledged that the distribution of the therapeutic food would be closely monitored to ensure it reaches malnourished children across the state.