Admissions of severely malnourished children in health facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross in North-East Nigeria have increased by 24 per cent between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that the increase is part of a trend affecting the entire Lake Chad Basin region, where an estimated 6.1 million people will not have enough to eat in the coming months due in part to both conflict and climate, the highest figure in four years.
The rise in the number of people without enough food mirrors an increase in violence, which has severely impacted communities’ ability to grow crops and access markets. Violent incidents in the Lake Chad region in the first half of 2024 rose 58 per cent compared with the same period in 2023.
Climate hazards are also preventing people from growing crops and accessing their farmland and markets, contributing to a food security crisis being felt across Lake Chad – in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. In North-East Nigeria, the start of the harvest season coincided this year with heavy floods that washed away seeds and all hope of harvest after an especially dry lean season.
“The consequences of spiraling violence and climate variability are devastating for families trying to feed themselves. We see the proof in the health facilities we support, where the rising number of children with severe acute malnutrition is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, they only represent a fraction of those in need across the region,” said Yann Bonzon, ICRC’s head of delegation in Nigeria.
In September, the ICRC expanded its efforts to curb malnutrition rates by supporting two additional health centers for malnourished children in Yobe and Adamawa states, northeast Nigeria. This will allow medical teams to provide a range of key services including consultations, nutritional screenings, and treatment for malnourished children with complications.
The ICRC, alongside with its partners from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, carries out activities assisting millions of people impacted by the combining effects of conflict and climate across the Lake Chad Basin. In northeast Nigeria in 2024, 187’000 people benefited from assistance in response to food shortages, delivered by the ICRC and the Nigeria Red Cross Society.
“We are increasing our humanitarian assistance, but we are afraid it is not going to be enough, because the needs are so much higher than the help we are able to provide,” said Alhaji Abubakar Kende, Secretary General of the Nigerian Red Cross Society.
The ICRC reminded all parties to armed conflicts that it is their responsibility under international humanitarian law (IHL), to ensure that people living in the territories under their control can meet their essential needs, including food, water, medical care, and access to farmland and markets. The ICRC engages all parties to armed conflicts on the respect for IHL, including in their conduct of hostilities. Indeed, IHL violations can negatively impact food security by disrupting access to fields and markets, restricting seasonal movement of livestock, and limiting access of humanitarian actors to communities in need.
