By Gabriel Ameh, The Sight News
At the Lake Greenfield Hotel in Abuja, voices of urgency and hope filled the air. From the Vice President’s Office to Northwest state governors and international aid agencies, one clear message echoed through the hall: no Nigerian child should go to bed hungry again.
The event, a High-Level Conference on Mobilising Against Malnutrition in Northwest Nigeria was convened by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders. It brought together leaders from the federal and state governments, the United Nations, development partners, and civil society, all united by one cause: ending the scourge of hunger and malnutrition that continues to claim lives and limit potential across Nigeria’s northern region.
Behind the formal speeches were sobering truths that millions of Nigerian children are annually affected by acute malnutrition, and that the country loses billions of naira in human capital and productivity every year due to poor nutrition.
“There is no Greater Test of Our Humanity” Shettima
Representing Vice President Kashim Shettima, Mrs. Uju Vanastasia Anwukah delivered a deeply emotional message that placed nutrition at the heart of Nigeria’s development priorities.
“There is no greater test of our humanity than how we respond to hunger in the land,” she said. “And there is no more sacred duty of governance than ensuring that no child goes to bed hungry.”
Shettima’s address framed hunger not only as a moral and social challenge but also as a critical economic and national development issue. He noted that the costs of malnutrition are staggering leading to thousands of deaths among children and pregnant women each year, and a massive $56 billion annual loss in human capital, equivalent to over 12% of Nigeria’s national income.
“Nutrition is not charity,” the Vice President’s representative emphasized. “It is an investment that yields 23 times more in returns for every dollar we commit. Investing in nutrition is investing in the next generation, in human capital, and in Nigeria’s future.”
Katsina Sets Example with Bold Nutrition Reforms
From Katsina State, Governor Umar Dikko Radda brought a strong regional perspective and a renewed sense of accountability.
“I am here today not merely to discuss problems, but to confront the immodesty that threatens the foundation of our future and our children,” he declared.
The governor shared the ambitious nutrition and health reforms undertaken in Katsina, highlighting sustained investments and measurable progress. His administration, he said, has invested over ₦40 billion in 2024 alone to upgrade health facilities, improve maternal and child healthcare, and ensure broader access to essential nutrition services.
He further disclosed that the State has contributed ₦500 billion to the National Child Nutrition Fund, rolled out the Accelerated Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ARIN) programme with World Bank support, and trained over 1,000 community health workers and 700 women in the production of locally made fortified foods.
“This report on malnutrition is not an embarrassment, it is a call to action,” Radda said passionately. “We have chosen to confront this challenge head-on because it is about our children, our survival, and our future as a people.”
The Katsina governor also announced plans to scale up nutrition-sensitive interventions across all 351 political wards, expand healthcare infrastructure, and modernize key treatment centres for malnourished children.
MSF Raises Alarm: Nigeria Treats Half of World’s Malnourished Children
In one of the most striking revelations of the day, Dr. Ahmed Aldikhari, the Country Representative of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), disclosed that Nigeria now treats more than half of all severely malnourished children under MSF care worldwide.
“In 2024 alone, MSF treated nearly 300,000 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition across northern Nigeria,” Dr. Aldikhari revealed. “That figure alone tells us how severe this crisis is and why coordinated action is no longer optional but urgent.”
He explained that Nigeria’s northern states, particularly in the Sahel belt, face recurring malnutrition due to conflict, food insecurity, and the annual hunger gap. While acknowledging ongoing government efforts, he stressed that the scale of the crisis demands joint, multi-sectoral collaboration across health, agriculture, education, and social protection systems.
“The government cannot do it alone,” Aldikhari warned. “This is a collective challenge. Our success will depend on how we coordinate and sustain our efforts because nutrition is not only a health issue, it’s a development imperative.”
A Renewed Commitment to Action
The conference concluded with a renewed resolve from participants including state governors, cabinet members, ambassadors, and representatives of development partners to translate policy commitments into tangible results.
There were calls for increased budgetary allocation to nutrition, better coordination between federal and state governments, and the scaling up of life-saving interventions in the most vulnerable communities across the Northwest.
As participants departed, one sentiment lingered in the air that the true measure of national progress lies not in statistics or speeches, but in the wellbeing of every Nigerian child.
“If progress begins with the stomach of a child,” one delegate reflected, “then Nigeria’s journey to a stronger, healthier, and more productive future has truly begun.”
