A new report released by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has revealed an extraordinary surge in severe cases of malnutrition in Bauchi State.
According to the report, 23,000 cases of malnutrition were recorded between January and June this year.
This, it said is a staggering 120 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
Commenting on the situation, the medical coordinator at MSF, Thierry Boyom, said that a 40 per cent increase in overall malnutrition has been recorded in cases across Nigeria.
“From the feedback we received, many people are struggling with the significant increase in food prices compared to last year, making it difficult for them to afford three meals a day,” Boyom explained.
Boyom, therefore warned that without immediate intervention, the situation could become disastrous.
On its part, it said that the MSF recently launched a community-based intervention to address the issue.
The initiative called Integrated Community Case Management is being implemented in eight villages.
Through this, local women are trained to detect and manage it early.
“They were trained to identify malnutrition, recognize signs of severity or medical complications, and manage simple cases of malnutrition on the spot.
“Additionally, they were trained to manage malaria,” Boyom said.
Bauchi State’s Nutrition Officer, Abubakar Saleh, stated that authorities are working to reduce the number of malnourished children through various initiatives.
These include scaling up micronutrient supplementation for pregnant mothers to prevent malnutrition from the womb, interventions supported by USAID-Ukraine for managing severe acute malnutrition, and maternal, newborn, and child health campaigns that screen children.
