Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has raised concerns about unprecedented admissions of malnourished children in Maiduguri, Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.

The health body warns of a potentially disastrous situation if immediate action is not taken.

“The massive increase in malnourished children calls for malnutrition prevention and treatment activities to be scaled up immediately to avoid a catastrophic situation when the hunger gap arrives,” says MSF medical coordinator Htet Aung Kyi.

In a report by the medical charity, nearly 1,300 children have been admitted to intensive care since the beginning of the year, the highest number ever recorded in Borno state for this period.

It added that in January, approximately 75 children were admitted each week with severe malnutrition; by April, that figure had more than doubled.

Years of conflict and insecurity, according to the Geneva based body, have caused a critical humanitarian situation in Maiduguri, including high rates of malnutrition.

Latest News

Last year MSF said it treated 147,860 children with severe acute malnutrition across northwest Nigeria.

We have not seen anything like this since we started running malnutrition activities here in 2017,” says Htet Aung Kyi.

“The number of weekly admissions is two to three times higher than at the same period over the past five years – and it’s still rising. Last year, we sounded the alarm in June when admissions skyrocketed at the start of the hunger gap but this year, we are already seeing alarming numbers while we are still weeks away from the pre-harvest shortage period. The clock is ticking for action if we want to avoid a catastrophe.”

Borno has been battling Boko Haram insurgency since 2009, affecting women, children and other vulnerable individuals.

The fight has since spread over the years to the neighboring West African countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad.