Malnutrition admissions rise at ICRC-backed facilities in North-east Nigeria

Malnutrition admissions at 10 health facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in north-eastern Nigeria rose 18 per cent in the first nine months of 2026.

The facilities recorded nearly 20,000 admissions between January and September, up from about 17,000 in the same period of 2025, the ICRC said in a statement on Thursday.

The figures cover six health centres and four hospitals. Young children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers were among those most affected.

Mubi in Adamawa State saw the sharpest rise, from about 4,600 admissions in the first nine months of 2025 to approximately 5,700 this year, an increase of nearly 24 per cent.

The latest numbers follow earlier ICRC warnings about rising demand for nutritional treatment in conflict-affected areas.

In October 2024, the organisation reported a 24 per cent increase in severe acute malnutrition admissions between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024, from 6,824 to 8,470.

Admissions of children under five with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications also rose from 1,212 to 1,691 in the same period.

These figures cover different reporting periods and patient categories and cannot establish a continuous three-year trend.

They do, however, show repeated increases in demand for nutritional treatment.

Mothers struggle

At the Mubi Stabilisation Centre, Zulaihatu Mohammed brought her six-month-old daughter, Huseina, one of her twins, for nutritional support.

“When I gave birth to them, this one was tiny,” she told the ICRC. “I came today for the routine collection of children’s food. She is not feeling well. Since I gave birth to her, she has been unwell.”

Armed violence, climate shocks and economic pressures have disrupted livelihoods and limited access to food.

According to the ICRC’s video report, farmer Saminu Ijaduwa cultivates a small plot near his home because explosive devices have made more distant fields dangerous.

“Due to the conflict, going one kilometre out of town to farm could be highly risky. You might not return!” he said in the ICRC report.

Restrictions on farming and disrupted markets have made it harder for families to produce or buy enough food, particularly affecting young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Humanitarian response

In a March 2026 report, the ICRC said more than 36,000 people received treatment for severe acute malnutrition at its supported facilities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states during 2025.

The total included more than 16,000 children under five and more than 19,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The organisation also provided cash assistance to more than 17,000 vulnerable families during the 2025 lean season.

Those annual treatment figures are not directly comparable with the new nine-month admission totals.

The ICRC said it is working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society to support 15 primary healthcare centres and four hospitals and to assist more than 200 communities with malnutrition treatment and food-security programmes.

Interventions include supplying farmers with seeds adapted to drought and flooding, promoting crop diversification and teaching mothers to prepare nutritious meals from local ingredients.

One such mixture of sorghum, millet, soybeans, groundnuts and moringa, known as Tom Brown, has helped more than 13,000 young children recover from moderate acute malnutrition, according to the ICRC. Mothers are also taught how to prepare it at home.

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Wider food insecurity

The rise in admissions comes as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) identify Nigeria among the world’s hunger hotspots of highest concern in their June to November 2026 outlook.

Citing United Nations analysis, the ICRC said more than 34 million people in Nigeria were expected to face insufficient access to food in 2026, the highest figure in six years.

In the North-east, prolonged conflict continues to restrict access to farmland and undermine household livelihoods, according to the ICRC.