The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced that roughly 2.1 million young children under the age of five across Borno and Yobe states are projected to experience acute malnutrition come 2026, with anticipated severe cases topping 750,000.
The agency said Yobe State alone accounts for more than 900,000 of the projected cases, including over 350,000 children expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition.
UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Dr. Kelechi Nwogu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Damaturu during a media dialogue and reporting challenge organised for journalists in the North-East.
He said despite interventions by development partners and governments, the nutrition situation in the two states remained a serious concern requiring urgent and sustained action.
Nwogu attributed the situation to the combined effects of conflict, displacement, poverty and food insecurity, which have left many families struggling to provide adequate nutrition for their children.
He said the figures represented children whose survival and development were at risk, urging journalists to sustain public attention on the crisis.
However, UNICEF said its UK-funded Multisectoral Integrated Nutrition Action (MINA) project had helped save thousands of children and improve access to essential health and nutrition services in the two states.
The Chief of UNICEF Borno Field Office, Mr Francis Butichi, said the project, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), had been implemented in 24 local government areas across Borno and Yobe since 2023.
He said the intervention integrated nutrition, maternal and child health, water, sanitation and hygiene, social and behaviour change, gender-based violence prevention and child protection.
According to him, between October 2023 and March 2026, the project facilitated the certification of 1,220 communities as Open Defecation Free (ODF).
He added that 219,677 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were admitted for treatment through outpatient and inpatient services, while more than 1.6 million children aged between six and 59 months received Vitamin A supplementation.
Butichi further said 1,019,661 children under the age of 24 months received their first measles vaccine through routine immunization, while 14,117 vulnerable women in Yobe benefited from cash transfers to improve their children’s dietary choices.
Butichi said although MINA was gradually coming to an end, its legacy included the recovery of thousands of children, improved feeding practices among caregivers, the establishment of community structures such as mothers’ support groups and the commitment of state governments to the Child Nutrition Fund.
He urged journalists to sustain reporting on nutrition, tell the human stories behind the statistics and ensure that affected families were portrayed with dignity.
The officials also called on the media to hold governments and other duty-bearers accountable for nutrition commitments and budgetary allocations, challenge harmful beliefs and misconceptions, and amplify the voices of women and affected communities.
Nwogu said UNICEF remained committed to working with governments, the UK Government, implementing partners and the media to ensure that children, adolescent girls and women had access to nutritious diets and quality services.
He added that journalists visiting health facilities should observe ethical reporting standards and use only dignifying images of children affected by acute malnutrition.
What You Should Know
This report highlights a worsening nutritional crisis affecting millions of vulnerable young children in Nigeria’s conflict-affected North-East region, driven by ongoing poverty, displacement, and food insecurity.
- Positive Impact: Targeted donor interventions like the MINA project have successfully provided treatment for hundreds of thousands of severely malnourished children, supported routine immunizations, and helped communities improve hygiene.
- Potential Concerns: With funding projects winding down and millions still at risk—particularly in Yobe State—thousands of young lives remain vulnerable unless state governments and stakeholders scale up long-term funding and sustainable nutrition responses.
