Zamfara state, located in Nigeria’s North-west, is facing a severe crisis that has left thousands of children in peril. The issue of malnutrition is rampant and mothers, particularly young ones, are bearing the heaviest burden; ENE OSHABA reports.
Asmau’s struggles: A heart-breaking experience
Asmau Ismail, a 19-year-old first-time mother, watches over her 8-month-old baby with a deep sense of worry. Her son, who should be gaining weight and strength at this age, appears far smaller than peers in his age. Asmau’s voice quivers as she shares her story.
“I’m heartbroken. The doctors are saying there might be a problem inside her, and they’ve referred us for further tests in Sokoto state. I just want her to get better,” she said, her eyes filled with distress.
Asmau, who is raising her child alone, is also grappling with the overwhelming challenge of malnutrition. “My husband lives in Nasarawa, and he sends money, but I take full responsibility for my baby. It’s hard being alone with no one around to help,” she added. At such a young age, Asmau should still be receiving care, not shouldering the heavy responsibility of caring for a sick child.
5.4m children in danger
Asmau’s experience is not an isolated one. Across the northwest and northeast regions of Nigeria, 5.4 million children under-five are suffering from acute malnutrition, a statistic that UNICEF warns will increase by an additional one million cases by April 2025. In Zamfara alone, 250, 000 children – one in every ten – are facing death due to severe acute malnutrition.
At the Ahmad Sani Yerima Bakura Specialist Hospital, health care workers are doing all they can to stabilise these children before beginning the long and difficult journey toward recovery.
“We’ve been treating patients with severe complications,” said, a health worker in the pediatric ward. “When these children arrive, our first task is to stabilise them. Then, we move to addressing their nutritional needs.”
Role of mothers in recovery process
While the hospital’s medical staff works tirelessly to save lives, there is another critical component to recovery: educating mothers. A UNICEF representative, Cristian Munduate, visiting the hospital emphasises the importance of ensuring that mothers not only provide the immediate care their children need, but also understand how to support their children’s growth in the long term.
“It’s vital we educate the mothers on the importance of breastfeeding and the right positioning for the baby. We’re not just saving the baby’s life; we’re also ensuring the mother understands how to support her baby’s growth in the long term,” she said.
Saratu’s concern: A mother’s worries
Saratu, a 22-year-old mother of five, is no stranger to the struggles of raising children, but this time her youngest child’s condition is particularly concerning. At the hospital, she expresses deep concern for her child.
“I’m very concerned. It’s heartbreaking to see my child in this state, but I’m doing everything I can to help him,” she said, her face marked by both sorrow and determination. Although Saratu has raised multiple children, the challenges of malnutrition have taken a toll on her family in new and painful ways.
“My baby has been sick for a while. It’s been a tough year, and he hasn’t been able to eat properly. Now, we’re receiving help from the hospital, and he’s improving,” Saratu shared, her voice filled with hope but tinged with exhaustion.
However, the economic burden weighs heavily on Saratu and her family. “With the economy the way it is, things have been tough. It’s hard to get everything we need,” she revealed.
A nursing grandmother’s story
In many families, grandmothers play a significant role in caring for their children especially the female grown up kids who are nursing kids but Shefahatu Suleiman’s case is surprising. She is still birthing kids alongside her first daughter Asmau. Her 11th child, Asmau ‘s youngest sibling is malnourished and admitted in Ward of same hospital as her niece.
Shefahatu Suleiman, 43, is a mother of 11, but today she is focused on the care of her youngest child, who is severely malnourished. Her one-year-old daughter is shockingly small for her age, a stark reminder of the devastating effects of malnutrition.
“I’m devastated, but I’m trying to stay strong. I trust in God to help us through this difficult time,” Shefahatu said. Her voice is heavy with sorrow, as she watches over her grandchild in the same hospital ward.
“That is Asmau, my daughter; you just spoke with over there. She’s also in the hospital caring for her own sick child, my grandson, while I’m here with my 11th child.”
Shefahatu’s experience has not prepared her for this level of suffering.
“This is my 11th child, but she’s never faced anything like this before,” Shefahatu disclosed, her voice filled with the weight of years spent raising children.
In this region, family planning remains a taboo topic, and Shefahatu’s reflections illustrate why. “I’ve heard about it, but I don’t know much about how it works because I never tried it,” she admitted. “Anytime I’m breastfeeding, I don’t get pregnant, and that is why I don’t bother about family planning.”
This lack of education on family planning, coupled with the overwhelming demands of raising children, leaves women like Shefahatu stuck in a cycle of poverty and poor health outcomes.
“I will consider trying out family planning when my sick child is well and we’re out of hospital. But it must be with my husband’s consent,” she stressed, showing she cannot take this decision by herself.
Tahama, another young mother’s struggles, pain
Tahama Mohammadu, a 20-year-old mother, shared a similar story.
“This is my first child, and it’s been a traumatic experience,” she said, her voice trembling as she recounts her experience in the hospital. “The doctors have been helpful, and I’ve seen some improvement since we came to the hospital.”
Like many of the women in the ward, Tahama’s husband is a farmer struggling to provide for his family while she’s a housewife with no skills, business or education.
“He’s doing what he can to help. But I’m really focused on my baby’s recovery right now,” she added, her attention solely on her sick child.
Underlying issues: poor health care and poverty
The stories shared by these mothers paint a painful picture of life in Zamfara state. The crisis of malnutrition is a direct result of low healthcare access, poor sanitation, and widespread poverty. In the region, only 21.5% of pregnant women attend the necessary antenatal visits, and fewer than 15% of women give birth in health institutions. Immunisation rates remain critically low, and the availability of clean water and nutritious food is scarce.
Cristian Munduate, the UNICEF Representative to Nigeria, offers a grim assessment of the situation. “Nearly 5.4 million children under five in the northwest and northeast are suffering from acute malnutrition,” she said. “In Zamfara, 250, 000 children are severely malnourished, and the numbers are expected to rise.”
Call for urgent action
Munduate emphasises the need for immediate intervention to address the underlying causes of malnutrition and its devastating effects on children and families.
“We must scale up nutrition interventions, expand health care services, and address the underlying causes of malnutrition, including rapid population growth.
“Yesterday, we saw a girl that was 16 already with two children, so she got pregnant the first, maybe at 14, right? So, in India, any person who goes into child marriage goes to trial goes to jail. That is what some countries are doing,” she said.
Despite the gravity of the situation, there is hope. The hospital’s efforts, backed by UNICEF, offer a lifeline to mothers like Asmau, Saratu, and Shefahatu. However, the road to recovery is long, and there is still much work to be done.
“As we walk through the ward, we must remember that our goal is not just to save lives, but to give these children the future they deserve,” a UNICEF worker said, echoing the sentiment shared by the mothers themselves. Despite their heartache, these women refuse to give up hope.
Need for collective effort to save lives
The malnutrition crisis in Zamfara requires urgent action from the government, international organisations, and local communities.
“Some other countries, what they’re doing, they rely a lot on their religious and traditional leaders so that they can do behavioural change and try to convince the communities and the elders that this is not a good practice. You know, if you add up the millions of girls that have been married in the country or have gotten pregnant in the country and that are having just one child after the other, it’s countless of mothers’ deaths, it’s countless of children’s deaths. And this, by the way, feeds back poverty.
“Yes, it feeds poverty. So I think it is important. Doing a stronger support for girls’ education is key to address at least teenage pregnancy and also helps the economy of the house, by the way. There are studies that reveal that when a woman is educated, has primary and hopefully secondary, she really becomes more productive and supports the household as well. So, as you say, as I say, three, you know, enactment of policies, laws,” Munduate also said.
Only through a collective effort can the cycle of malnutrition be broken, and the lives of thousands of children be saved. The future of these children – and their mothers – depends on the support and intervention that will help ensure they are given the chance to thrive.
“And she was surrounded by children, so I thought, you know, the children from the neighbours that were there. She had, I think she is 38 years old and she had around 10 children, right? And I was, you know, I went in a conversation with her and I said, so, I mean, you look tired, you are 38. I thought, honestly, she looked like 48.
“So, I said, you look tired, why is this? And she said, oh, well, I don’t want more, but, you know, my husband insists, right? So my question to the audience and mainly to the men, how much women are being pressured to have a child one after the other? We cannot just bring children to suffer,” she said further.
