MÉDECINS Sans Frontières (MSF) has said it recorded its highest admissions for child malnutrition in Nigeria in 2025, with more than 440,000 children treated.
The international medical charity disclosed this in its 2025 Nigeria Activity Report released in Abuja on Wednesday, May 13.
It warned that malnutrition, infectious diseases and poor maternal healthcare access continued to deepen humanitarian concerns in many parts of the country.
Malnutrition occurs when the body does not get the right amount of nutrients needed for healthy growth and development. It includes undernutrition, caused by inadequate intake of food or nutrients, and can lead to conditions such as wasting, stunting and severe acute malnutrition, particularly among children.
According to the report, MSF treated 353,989 children for severe acute malnutrition through outpatient programmes and admitted another 90,723 children with acute malnutrition and medical complications into stabilisation centres in facilities it supports across Nigeria.
MSF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ahmed Aldikhari, described the figures as the highest recorded by the organisation in recent years.
“The 2025 data tells a harrowing story: with over 440,000 children put on treatment, it is the year with highest admissions for malnutrition we’ve had in Nigeria in recent years,” Aldikhari 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, and continues to affect vulnerable communities, especially when healthcare is delayed or inaccessible.”
He noted that diseases such as measles, malaria and diphtheria were worsening the nutrition crisis, particularly in communities where healthcare access remained delayed or inaccessible.
MSF linked the growing crisis to conflict, insecurity, displacement, inflation, flooding, drought and rising food prices, which it said had continued to limit families’ access to food and medical care.
The organisation also warned that humanitarian funding cuts were increasing pressure on already overstretched health services.
The report showed that infectious disease outbreaks continued to overwhelm health facilities in several states during the year.
MSF said it treated 341,239 malaria patients, 38,753 children for measles, 6,123 diphtheria patients and 985 meningitis cases across its projects and supported facilities in 2025.
The organisation said recurring outbreaks of cholera, Lassa fever, measles, meningitis, diphtheria and typhoid fever remained common, especially during the rainy season.
“Many of these illnesses are preventable,” Aldikhari said, stressing the need to strengthen vaccination coverage, water and sanitation systems, disease surveillance and access to timely treatment.
The report also highlighted continued concerns over maternal and newborn deaths in Nigeria, particularly in rural and conflict-ridden communities where women face barriers including insecurity, transportation difficulties, overstretched hospitals and weak referral systems.
The organisation added that many women arrived at health facilities with severe complications linked to delayed access to care, including obstructed labour, severe bleeding, infections and eclampsia.
“There is an urgent need for stronger investment in primary healthcare, referral systems, staffing, equipment and emergency maternal services, especially in underserved areas,” Aldikhari added.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M