By Ojoma Akor
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says there was a rise in the number of children it treated for malnutrition in Nigeria, with over 440,000 children treated in 2025.
This was revealed in its 2025 Country Activity Report for Nigeria, launched on Wednesday in Abuja.
MSF said its teams observed a continued increase in malnutrition cases across several projects in northern Nigeria since 2022, with 2025 marking the highest number of admissions recorded to date.
The organization highlighted that in 2025, it treated 353,989 children with severe acute malnutrition through outpatient programs and admitted 90,723 children with acute malnutrition and medical complications into inpatient stabilization centers in MSF-supported facilities.
The report said there were also repeated disease outbreaks and persistent barriers to maternal healthcare across the areas where the organization works.
MSF said that in collaboration with health authorities, MSF teams treated more than 300,000 people for malaria and assisted in over 33,500 deliveries across Nigeria, providing lifesaving care in some of the country’s most underserved and crisis-affected areas.
It further revealed that in 2025, it ran regular medical projects in ten states, including Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. It also established a new presence in Kaduna and responded to emergencies in these states and others, including Niger and Adamawa.
Briefing newsmen during the launch of the report in Abuja, MSF Country Representative for Nigeria, Dr Ahmed Aldikhari, said 2025 is the year with the highest number of malnutrition admissions MSF has recorded in Nigeria in recent years.
He said, “We are seeing a vicious cycle where malnutrition is both a cause and a consequence of diseases such as measles, malaria, and diphtheria among others, which continue to affect vulnerable communities, especially when healthcare is delayed or inaccessible.”
Also, in 2025, MSF teams treated 341,239 patients for malaria, and 985 patients for meningitis across MSF-run and MSF-supported facilities in several states.
MSF noted that disease outbreaks and malnutrition are closely interconnected, with repeated illness worsening nutritional vulnerability among children.
Dr Aldikhari said many of these illnesses are preventable, adding that strengthening vaccination coverage, water and sanitation systems, disease surveillance and access to timely treatment remains critical.
He said, “To respond to seasonal surges, MSF works closely with federal and state health authorities alongside other actors to scale up emergency interventions, support vaccination campaigns, reinforce medical teams and supplies, distribute mosquito nets, strengthen vector control measures, and support routine and catch-up vaccinations.”
He said MSF held a large conference for combating malnutrition in the North West last year, adding, “We also had commitments from governors to ensure action is taken. We are beginning to see some action, but these actions are still not enough.”
Dr Aldikhari said, “Timely access to emergency obstetric and newborn care can save lives. There is an urgent need for stronger investment in primary healthcare, referral systems, staffing, equipment and emergency maternal services, especially in underserved areas.”
The Medical Coordinator, Louis Vala, said Nigeria remains among countries with the highest maternal and newborn mortality rates in the world.
He said that in 2025, MSF assisted with 33,590 deliveries, conducted 119,469 antenatal consultations, and carried out 224 fistula surgeries across MSF-run and supported facilities.
Vala also said that access to emergency obstetric and newborn care is still limited in many rural and conflict-affected communities as a result of insecurity, cost, and overstretched healthcare facilities.
He added that MSF teams continue to receive women with severe complications linked to delayed access to care, including obstructed labor, severe bleeding, infections, and eclampsia.
MSF’s Medical Activity Manager, Shafa’atu Yusuf Abdulkadir, said MSF treated 38,753 children for measles and 6,123 for diphtheria across the country in 2025.
She highlighted that 985 patients were treated for meningitis, while 341,239 people received treatment for malaria across MSF-supported facilities in the country.
