The latest UNICEF report on child malnutrition in the Northern part of the country presents a horrifying picture that should shake our national conscience. With 5.4 million children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition in the Northwest and Northeast regions alone, we are witnessing nothing short of a humanitarian crisis that threatens to cripple our nation’s future.
The statistics are not merely numbers; they represent millions of young lives hanging in the balance. In Zamfara State alone, home to 1.2 million children, the situation has reached catastrophic proportions. The revelation that out of every 250,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, 10 face potential death should send shockwaves through our collective consciousness. Even more alarming is the 45.2 percent stunting rate among children aged 0 to 5 years, a condition that will handicap their physical and cognitive development for life.
The crisis extends far beyond mere nutritional deficiencies. It represents a complex web of interconnected failures in our healthcare, education, and social welfare systems. Consider the maternal health crisis: only 21.5 percent of pregnant women receive adequate antenatal care, and a mere 15 percent of births occur in healthcare facilities. More shocking still, only 13 percent of pregnant women have access to skilled birth attendants. These figures paint a picture of a healthcare system in complete disarray.
The immunisation statistics are equally disturbing. Millions of children remain vulnerable to preventable diseases, creating a perfect storm of malnutrition and illness. The fact that 2.1 million children have never received any vaccinations represents a public health emergency that demands immediate attention.
Education, often viewed as the pathway out of poverty, tells an equally grim tale. Over 700,000 children – a staggering 62 percent – are out of school, while 60 percent of girls are forced into early marriage, perpetuating an intergenerational cycle of poverty and deprivation. When three out of four children lack foundational skills, we are not just failing the present generation; we are mortgaging our nation’s future.
The root causes of this crisis are both systemic and societal. Multidimensional poverty, affecting 67 percent of children in these regions, creates a vicious cycle where malnutrition, poor health outcomes, and limited educational opportunities reinforce each other. The absence of family planning education and facilities has led to families having more children than they can adequately support. This, coupled with widespread unemployment, soaring food prices, and inadequate access to healthcare, has created a perfect storm of deprivation.
The solution requires a multi-faceted approach and immediate action. UNICEF estimates that over $250 million is needed to address these challenges in Nigeria’s most vulnerable states, with more than $100 million required for Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina alone. These funds would provide essential services in nutrition, health, water and sanitation, child protection, and education. The projection that an additional 200,000 children in the northwest will require Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food in 2025 compared to 2024 underscores the urgency of the situation.
The political leadership in North must rise above partisan interests and tackle this crisis head-on. The sight of hundreds of female children begging on the streets of Kano city recently, instead of attending school is a damning indictment of both governmental and parental responsibility. While poverty may explain some of these circumstances, it cannot excuse the wholesale abandonment of our most vulnerable citizens.
Furthermore, the persistent insecurity in these regions compound the problem by preventing families from accessing their farms and livelihoods. A comprehensive solution must include restored security to enable citizens engage in productive agricultural activities and provide for their families.
For a country blessed with abundant natural resources, allowing children to die from malnutrition is not just a tragedy – it is a national shame. The federal and state governments must forge a stronger partnership to implement effective interventions. This should include expanding social safety nets, improving healthcare infrastructure, and implementing comprehensive nutrition programmes.
The time for political rhetoric and half-measures is over. We need decisive action to save the lives of millions of children hanging in the balance. The political elite, in particular, must feel the weight of this responsibility and act with the urgency this crisis demands. Our children’s future – and by extension, Nigeria’s future – depends on the actions we take today. The cost of inaction is simply too high to contemplate. The future is under threat, if this high number of children under five are malnourished. Actually, that future is here. And the time to act is now.