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Highlights
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In 2023, Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) treatment for children expanded notably, with a 38% rise in the Northeast and an impressive 209% increase in the Northwest. Nationally, 997,208 children received treatment, surpassing sector aims in the Northeast and UNICEF targets in the Northwest. Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) supplies remained secure through April 2024 in the Northeast and March 2024 in the Northwest.
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Moreover, 13,455 confirmed cases of diphtheria were reported, with 32% among the unvaccinated, primarily in Kano State. UNICEF procured 5.2 million pentavalent and 10.1 million tetanus-diphtheria vaccinations to address this situation. In a significant breakthrough, access to Marte, one of Borno State's previously unreachable LGAs, was achieved through localization efforts, enabling WASH and nutrition support for 16,000 people
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Furthermore, Nigerian security agencies released 141 children from administrative custody in 2023, following the Handover Protocol
SITUATION OVERVIEW AND HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
Country-Wide In June, the fuel subsidy was removed. As a result, the price of fuel tripled, which raised the cost of food due to transportation expenses.
As a result, on July 13, 2023, the newly elected President issued a state of emergency due to rising food prices and shortages. To mitigate the socio-economic impact of the fuel subsidy removal on low-income households, the President launched a shock-responsive social protection program in November. With this, 15 million impoverished and vulnerable households would get three monthly cash transfers totaling NGN 25,000 (about $25 according to the informal market rate). Over a million households had received the first installment before the end of the year.
The year 2023 was marked by a large diphtheria outbreak, which peaked in August 2023. From January 2023 to December 2023, 22,296 suspected cases were recorded, of which 13,455 were confirmed. The outbreak claimed 580 lives, with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 4.4%. The epi-centre of the outbreak was Kano State in the Northwest, with 80% of confirmed cases, followed by Yobe State in the Northeast, while cases were confirmed from 35 of the 36 states. Children aged 2-14 years constituted 90% of all affected people. A review of vaccination status highlighted that 32 percent of patients had not received the recommended vaccination against this preventable disease illness.
Compared to 2022 which had recorded 23,700 cases of cholera , 2023 observed a significantly lower outbreak, with 3,683 suspected cholera cases reported countrywide, including 128 deaths with a 3.5% case fatality rate. The bulk of suspected cases were reported from Zamfara State in the Northwest (914 = 25% of all cases), Cross River (718), Katsina (343), and Bayelsa (319). Niger, Jigawa and Adamawa ranked 7th to 9th state with the highest cases recorded -195, 84, and 62 cases, respectively. The cases in the South (Cross River, Bayelsa) were mostly a consequence of the 2022 floods.
Northeast In Borno State, garrison towns in Borno State have become more fortified, and are now safer than they were in 2022, which had witnessed incursions into those towns. Meanwhile, areas outside garrison towns remain inaccessible to international aid workers due to insecurity.
The armed conflict in the Northeast has shifted in terms non-state armed actors (NSAG), especially JAS and ISWAP, attacking increasingly civilians, instead of primarily military targets. This is illustrated by the increasing use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by NSAG. Specifically, a sharp increase by 69% of children having fallen victims to IEDs in 2023 (49) was recorded, compared to 2022 (29)6 . Overall, more casualties related to explosive ordnance were recorded among civilians (184) than security forces (159) in 2023. Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States recorded 296 fatalities as a result of violence against civilians in 2023, with Borno recording 232 (78%) of the victims, while Yobe and Adamawa had 37 and 27 respectively7 . This represents an increase compared to the same type of fatalities reported in 2022 (271).
In 2023, no IDP relocations took place. The Borno Governor, however, declared his intention to close all IDP camps in Borno by the end of his mandate, following the closure of all 9 formal IDP camps in the Maiduguri area in 2022, which resulted in the relocation of some 160,000 IDPs to remote areas, including IDP camps. As of end of December, the number of IDPs is consistent: 2m IDPs (vs. 2.2m in 2022) remain in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe8 , of which 42% (830,000 IDPs)9 reside in 279 camps.
Some 8,000 refugees from Cameroon fled to Adamawa in early 2023. In total, there are 22,200 refugees (inc. 3,900 women, 14,570 children) from Cameroon in Adamawa. Finally, during the gubernatorial election, NGO activities were halted for one month in Adamawa, briefly delaying UNICEF’s education activities. Following high-level advocacy, the suspension was lifted after the elections.