A recent screening has revealed that one in four children under the age of five in the Shinkafi and Zurmi areas of Zamfara State is malnourished. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, conducted the mass screening in June.
Out of 97,149 children screened across 21 urban and rural locations, 27% were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, with five per cent experiencing severe acute malnutrition.
MSF Field Communications Manager, Zoe Bennell issued a statement highlighting that these figures exceed the ‘critical level’ threshold set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for malnutrition prevalence. The organisation has called on health authorities, international organisations, and donors to urgently intensify efforts to address the worsening malnutrition crisis in Zamfara State and the broader Northwest Nigeria region, which has not yet been included in the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan.
The June screening also revealed that about 22% of the children assessed were moderately malnourished. Currently, essential nutritional supplies, known as Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), are unavailable due to UNICEF’s suspension of supplies at the beginning of the year.
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The statement further revealed that this shortage in humanitarian response risks worsening the condition of moderately malnourished children, potentially leading to severe acute malnutrition, which threatens their survival and long-term health.
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