More than 650 children have lost their lives to severe acute malnutrition in Katsina State in 2025, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international humanitarian organisation.
MSF, which has been active in Katsina since 2021, reported a sharp increase in the number of critically malnourished children arriving at its treatment centres.
Between January and June 2025, nearly 70,000 malnourished children received treatment from MSF in the state, with close to 10,000 requiring hospital admission.
“This year alone, 652 children have died in our care because they were unable to access treatment early enough,” said Ahmed Aldikhari, MSF’s country representative in Nigeria, in a press statement released on Friday, July 25.
The organisation attributed the worsening crisis to major reductions in international humanitarian funding. Key donors — including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union — have significantly scaled back their support.
Earlier in the week, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced plans to halt emergency food and nutrition assistance for 1.3 million people in Northeast Nigeria by the end of July, citing severe funding gaps.
MSF also noted a more than 200% increase in cases of nutritional oedema — the most severe and life-threatening form of malnutrition — in Katsina, compared to the same period last year.
The crisis extends beyond children. A recent screening at MSF-operated malnutrition centres revealed that over half of the 750 mothers accompanying their children were themselves acutely malnourished, with 13% classified as severely malnourished.
“The nutritional crisis in northern Nigeria took a drastic turn in 2024, but what we are witnessing this year has surpassed all projections,” Aldikhari added. “More and more families can no longer afford food, even though it remains available in the markets.”
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