Child malnutrition worsens in Borno and Yobe
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Tribune Online
Child malnutrition is worsening in Nigeria’s Borno and Yobe states, driven in particular by food insecurity and economic difficulties. UNICEF is encouraging families to grow nutrient-rich vegetables and sweet potatoes to sustainably improve children’s diets, according to its specialist Nwogu Kelechukwu.
About 2.1 million children in Borno and Yobe, two states in north-eastern Nigeria, are expected to suffer from malnutrition in 2026, including some 750,000 from severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF nutrition specialist Dr Nwogu Kelechukwu gave these estimates on Thursday in Maiduguri, attributing the situation in particular to food insecurity, economic difficulties and the prolonged effects of the Boko Haram insurgency.
UNICEF is encouraging families to use local foods to improve children’s diets and create vegetable gardens to grow leafy vegetables. The organisation has also experimented with growing orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, which are rich in vitamin A, and is implementing cash transfers for pregnant women and families with children under two, according to Nwogu Kelechukwu.
UNICEF plans to expand this assistance through cash transfers and food vouchers depending on available resources. The specialist warned that severe acute malnutrition greatly increases the risk of death among children when it is not treated quickly.
