In Zamfara, a state in Northwest Nigeria, rampant malnutrition is creating a dire humanitarian crisis, leaving countless lives at risk. In June 2024, within the communities in Shinkafi and Zurmi local government areas (LGAs) targeting both town and village population, MSF teams in collaboration with Ministry of Health conducted mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) screenings - measurements that allow health workers to quickly determine if a child is malnourished.

One out of every four children under the age of five is malnourished in the Shinkafi and Zurmi areas of Nigeria’s Zamfara state. Of the 97,149 children screened in 21 different urban and rural locations, 27 percent were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, with five percent having severe acute malnutrition.

The mass screening held in June in
the Shinkafi and Zurmi areas further revealed that about 22 per cent of children screened are moderately malnourished. The severe malnutrition crisis in Zamfara highlights a broader problem of widespread malnutrition across northwest Nigeria and despite facing persistent high levels of poverty and insecurity, communities in the northwest have long been excluded from coordinated humanitarian response. MSF calls on the health authorities, alongside international organisations and donors, to urgently scale up their response.