An academic of Bayero Univeraity Kano, has revealed a staggering number of children affected by malnutrition, as she released that kids died of malnutrition

The figure was disclosed by Professor Ruqayya Yusuf of the Department of Information and Media Studies, BUK, while presenting a paper titled “Understanding the Basics of Behavioural Change: Towards Improving Malnutrition in Kano State” at a media sensitisation training.

According to her, malnutrition and poor dietary practices remain major public health challenges in Kano State, despite ongoing interventions, noting that Nigeria continues to rank poorly on the Global Nutrition Index.

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Mrs Yusuf said about 40 per cent of children under the age of five in Nigeria are stunted, while the situation is worse in Kano, where 51.9 per cent of children suffer stunted growth, citing 2025 UNICEF reports.

She attributed the high burden of malnutrition to a combination of socio-economic and health-related factors.

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“The burden of malnutrition is driven by poverty, food insecurity, poor dietary habits and inadequate health alerts,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, a crop scientist, Amina Ado-Yahaya, disclosed that Kano State has the highest prevalence of underweight children under five in the country, estimated at 42.6 per cent.

She stressed the need for localised solutions, particularly homestead vegetable gardening, as a sustainable approach to improving household nutrition.
Mrs Ado-Yahaya further warned that Vitamin A deficiency remains a major public health concern, describing it as a leading cause of childhood blindness and a factor that increases the severity of common infections such as measles and diarrhoea.

The experts called for coordinated efforts involving government, media practitioners, communities, and development partners to address the worsening malnutrition crisis in the state.