In the first six months of 2025, at least 652 children in Nigeria’s Katsina state have died due to malnutrition, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The aid organization attributes the deaths to sharp reductions in funding from major international donors, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union .
MSF reports the crisis unfolded between January and June (last six months), a period during which cases of severe malnutrition in Katsina rose by approximately 208 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2024. This surge in severe malnutrition in last six months overwhelmed medical facilities, many of which were already straining to care for a record number of young patients .
The increase in malnutrition cases took place against a backdrop of escalating insecurity in northern Nigeria, where banditry, displacement, and widespread conflict have forced many families to abandon farms and sources of food. Insecurity has severely disrupted agriculture, compounding existing food access challenges .
MSF highlighted that nearly 70,000 malnourished children received treatment from its teams in Katsina during the first half of the year. Of these, almost 10,000 were hospitalized in critical condition. Despite this extensive outreach, 652 children died in MSF facilities, reflecting both late-stage presentations and overwhelmed care capacity .
The funding cuts from Western governments have delivered a stark blow to Nigeria’s malnutrition response. MSF underscored that the reductions in donor support are having “real impact” on the ability to provide timely treatment for severely malnourished children .
Concurrently, the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) announced it will suspend food and nutrition aid for 1.3 million people in Nigeria’s insurgency‑hit northeast at the end of July, citing exhaustion of stockpiles due to funding shortfalls. This move threatens to leave hundreds of thousands without critical aid .
In response, Nigeria’s federal government has budgeted 200 billion naira—approximately $130 million—for the year to compensate for the shortfall created by the withdrawal of U.S. funds. However, even this national commitment is unlikely to fully offset the loss of international support, and health services remain under severe strain amid rising needs .
Inside Katsina, the worsening humanitarian environment reflects deep structural challenges: displacement driven by violence, limited access to healthcare and vaccines, and broader socioeconomic fragility. Disease outbreaks and low immunization coverage further exacerbate already precarious nutritional conditions among children .
An alarming MSF survey of 750 mothers in the area revealed that more than half were acutely malnourished themselves, with 13 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition. This marks a significant deterioration in maternal and child health outcomes in northern Nigeria .
While the state government has doubled its nutrition program funding—providing 500 million naira last year and doubling the amount this year—local officials cautioned that MSF’s death toll claims may exceed their own validated figures. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that child deaths from malnutrition are indeed occurring in the region .
Nationally, nearly 31 million people are facing acute hunger, the UN says, underscoring the urgent need for scaled-up humanitarian responses. Without renewed international support and expanded funding, health actors warn, more children in Katsina and northeastern Nigeria will continue to suffer and die .
MSF’s statements serve as a stark warning: the compound effects of soaring insecurity, widespread displacement, rising food costs, and steep donor retrenchment are driving a humanitarian emergency with deadly consequences for Nigeria’s most vulnerable children. Efforts to arrest famine, malnutrition and mortality hinge on urgent mobilization of resources and restoration of international aid.
