What happened, where and when?
The BAY (Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe) states in Nigeria continue to face a severe nutrition crisis, with high levels of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) affecting large segments of the population, particularly children under five.
This ongoing crisis is driven by a combination of socio-economic factors, including food insecurity, displacement, poor healthcare infrastructure, and inadequate nutrition services. The situation significantly worsened since the initial Emergency alert issued by the Nutrition Sector in June 2024, triggered by the results of the Sentinel Surveillance, SMART survey, and SAM admissions.
Data from the Nutrition Sector also revealed concerning increases in Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) and SAM rates. Inaccessible areas across BAY states recorded a GAM rate of 19.9% and a SAM rate of 9.2%, reflecting an increase of 1.1% for GAM and 0.7% for SAM compared to the previous report in May 2024. Most of these cases were emerging from locations that are not covered by nutrition partners, and the Nutrition Sector called for urgent support in these areas, which remain largely outside the reach of the reserve allocation. The situation in Borno was particularly alarming, with 12 out of the 22 Local Government Areas (LGAs) triggering deterioration alerts. These alerts include areas affected by both diarrhea and malnutrition, particularly in the hardest-hit LGAs like Bama, Damboa,
Gwoza, and Konduga, which were experiencing high admissions of SAM complicated by Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD), Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI), and suspected measles.
Issues such as child swapping to receive multiple rations of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and a break in the supply pipeline for Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food (RUSF) were said to have created further barriers to effective treatment. The Nutrition Sector expressed urgent concerns about a potential stockout of RUTF and RUSF due to the high admissions during the first and second quarters of 2024. Yobe and Adamawa State Governments, in letters dated 8 and 9 July 2024 respectively, requested support from the NRCS to address the critical preventive and therapeutic needs of the malnourished population. This request highlighted the need for expanded preventive interventions, response to cases of AWD in the states, capacity building of healthcare workers, and the expansion of supplementary feeding programs to meet the growing demand for nutrition interventions.
Since the time of this initial application, there has been a notable escalation in the severity of the nutrition crisis, with SAM and MAM rates continuing to rise in all three states. The recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis underscores a significant escalation in the severity of the nutrition crisis in Northeast Nigeria. Projections for January to April 2025 indicate that approximately 2.6 million children under five years across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states will be acutely malnourished - a 67% increase compared to 2024, including 1 million expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition. This alarming trend is attributed to factors such as severe food and economic crises, soaring food prices, limited access to farmlands due to insecurity, extreme weather events like flooding, cholera outbreaks, inadequate access to basic health services, and suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices.
Given this context, the activities planned under this DREF operation remain critically relevant. The NRCS is currently intensifying efforts to provide immediate relief and nutritional support in the most affected areas. However, as the situation continues to worsen, there is an increasing need for ongoing engagement and a broader, more impactful response. The requested two-month no-cost extension, moving the end date to March 31, 2025, will ensure that interventions such as supplementary feeding programs, screening and referral activities, and healthy cooking demonstrations.