UN warns that as many as 1.4m children under five face malnutrition in the northeast

AS many as 1.4m children are said to be facing malnutrition across northeast Nigeria over the next year due to the effects of the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (Iswap) insurgency according to the United Nations.

In a recent report just published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Unocha), it will be children under the age of five who will be the victims of this acute malnutrition. Matthias Schmale, the UN’s interim resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, revealed these fears at the presentation of the agency's 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan for North East Nigeria.

Boko Haram and its splinter group Iswap have been fighting against the Nigerian state since 2009, leading to the creation of over 2m internally displaced persons. Mr Schmale said the new projections are extremely concerning, adding that starvation is already threatening the lives of millions of children in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states.

He added: “I fear the harm that yet another tough lean season would bring. Severe acute malnutrition admissions in nutrition treatment centres are already at the highest levels since surveillance started in 2017.

“I visited a nutritional stabilisation centre in Bama, Borno State last month and saw a facility being pushed to its maximum capacity, its staff determined to care for as many patients as possible. In the year ahead, 1.4m children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition.”

About 8.4m people in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states are said to need humanitarian aid in 2022, according to the UN. Mr Schmale added that the humanitarian response plan supports the Nigerian government’s unwavering efforts in meeting the needs of the country’s affected citizens but he appealed for a $1.1bn donation to provide urgent assistance to over 5.5m people in need by 2022.

Mr Schmale said: “A disturbing aspect of this 12-year-old conflict is that there are thousands of children who have never known peace in their lifetime. Many children in the northeast have been born into a violent, insecure environment; deprived of safety, education, healthcare and protection that is the right of each child.”

The UN estimates that about $144.28m will be spent on nutrition for 3m people in need while $52.68m would be spent on health care for 4.99m people. In addition, the global organisation said $83.17m would be spent on education for 1.87m people and $56.80m on shelter and non-food protection for 2.95m people who are in need.