As the level of humanitarian support available to respond to the critical needs of people in northern Nigeria dramatically declines, a neglected humanitarian crisis persists in the northwest, with catastrophic levels of malnutrition and recurrent outbreaks of preventable diseases, according to the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF). In a statement Monday, MSF warned that despite the severity of the crisis, the situation is largely being ignored by donors and aid agencies.
In recent years, more than 600,000 people have been displaced from their homes in northwest Nigeria as a result of extreme violence, deteriorating economic conditions and climate change. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are approximately 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in north-central and north-western Nigeria. Most have been forced to flee their homes due to armed banditry.
Despite encouraging signs of mobilization by humanitarian groups and donors in 2023, MSF said that the funding and relief aid currently available is woefully inadequate to meet the growing humanitarian needs of the affected population. The humanitarian organization warned that while both the northeast and northwest regions remain affected by high levels of malnutrition and preventable diseases, the non-inclusion of the northwest in all previous Humanitarian Response Plans (HRPs) is alarming.
A Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is a document that outlines a coordinated response to a humanitarian crisis. It is developed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in consultation with the government of the affected country, other UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“We have repeatedly expressed our concerns to the UN and donors about the alarming and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the northwest,” says Ahmed Bilal, MSF head of mission in Nigeria.
“The lack of recognition of the crisis is having a severe impact on the health and humanitarian needs of people, and is delaying the response, which is desperately needed,” Bilal said.
MSF stressed that people living in Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina and Kebbi states, all in the northwest, have been affected by the ongoing violence, mainly armed banditry and kidnappings. Last year, more than 2,000 people were killed in more than 1,000 violent incidents in the region, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).
In addition to being displaced from their homes, people have lost their livelihoods and are often unable to reach their farms due to security concerns. They struggle to find food, and access to health care and other basic services has become increasingly difficult and dangerous.
The crisis has caused rates of malnutrition and other diseases to skyrocket. An estimated 2.6 million children in the country are suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), including 532,163 in Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara states, according to national surveys by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and government authorities.
Last year, MSF medical teams working in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina and Kano states treated 171,465 malnourished children as outpatients and admitted 32,104 children for life-threatening severe acute malnutrition - a 14 percent increase on the previous year.
In Katsina State, its teams found high levels of acute malnutrition in 2023, with 17.4 percent of children surveyed in Jibia local government area suffering from acute malnutrition at the start of the lean season.
MSF warned that the high rate of admissions to inpatient facilities was accompanied by alarming mortality rates. In one of its supported facilities in Zamfara State, it reached 23.1 percent.
Sadly, many children died within 48 hours of arriving in critical condition, too late to be saved due to barriers to health care, MSF said. When people fall ill, their families are forced to weigh the risks of traveling to a health facility against staying at home without medical care.
Meanwhile, outbreaks of preventable diseases such as malaria, cholera, meningitis, measles and diphtheria are recurrent and widespread. And for relief agencies, security constraints make it increasingly difficult to access certain areas, while escalating violence disrupts and sometimes prevents their work.
In 2023, there were some small signs of increased interest and mobilization from donors and aid organizations in northwest Nigeria. However, funding has not been forthcoming, and in a climate of global aid cuts, the few aid agencies working in the region do not have the capacity to scale up their work.
“We are very alarmed about forthcoming reductions in funding activities for some organizations amid global cuts to humanitarian assistance,” said Simba Tirima, MSF country representative.
“While MSF does not rely on governmental or institutional funds for our activities, this is not the case for most aid organizations in the northwest, whose funding depends heavily on the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan.”
The country-specific HRP provides a strategic overview of the crisis, identifies the most urgent needs, and outlines the planned response. The Humanitarian Response Plan also includes a financial appeal to donors to support the implementation of the plan.
“There were hopeful signs for the northwest last year, but a series of opportunities have been missed and the same cannot happen again in 2024,” Tirima said.
“This year might become the worst year yet in terms of humanitarian needs and suffering for people.”
To alleviate the suffering of vulnerable communities, MSF believes that priority should be given to preventing and treating malnutrition and vaccinating people against preventable diseases.
MSF calls on the humanitarian community and the Nigerian government to urgently mobilize across northwest Nigeria, where access is possible, to respond to this neglected humanitarian emergency.
Further information
Full text: Neglected humanitarian crisis escalates in northwest Nigeria, MSF, press release, published March 11, 2024
https://www.msf.org/neglected-humanitarian-crisis-escalates-northwest-nigeria