The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued a dire warning that over 400,000 children in Nigeria are at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition if urgent measures are not taken.
In a statement released on Saturday, UNICEF revealed that the situation is particularly alarming in conflict-affected regions like Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, as well as in several north-western states where food insecurity and displacement have intensified.
“This is not just a health crisis; it’s a child survival emergency,” said Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria. “We are witnessing a silent emergency unfold, and the window to act is closing fast.”
According to the agency, millions of Nigerian children are currently suffering from some form of malnutrition, but those categorized under severe acute malnutrition are at imminent risk of death without life-saving therapeutic intervention.
UNICEF is calling on the Nigerian government, donor agencies, and international partners to scale up funding and support for nutrition programs, warning that the current response is grossly underfunded.
Health experts say the situation is further worsened by poverty, food inflation, poor sanitation, and lack of access to clean water—factors that continue to fuel the country’s child malnutrition crisis.
UNICEF stressed that without immediate and sustained action, Nigeria risks losing hundreds of thousands of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens in the months ahead.
