The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says 2.5 million children in Nigeria’s north-east are at risk of acute malnutrition.
Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef, UNICEF country representative in Nigeria, spoke on Thursday during a media briefing in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
Abdelatef said the situation is part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the region, where more than 4.5 million people require assistance due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
“There is an estimate that there are 2.5 million severely acutely malnourished children,” she said.
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“That is a really high number, and severe acute malnutrition is the worst form of malnutrition. If the child, he or she, has severe acute malnutrition, if they are not treated, they are at risk maybe 11 times to die compared than a nourished child.
“It’s a very, very high risk.”
Abdelatef stressed that tackling child malnutrition and strengthening immunisation are among the agency’s top priorities.
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“UNICEF is committed to working with state governments in the region to improve the lives of children and families across the north-east,” she added.
The country representative added that UNICEF is working with state governments to support vaccination campaigns, expand cold chain facilities, and deploy community health workers to reach children who have never received a dose of any vaccine.
