Worldwide Work - BorderlineJuly2022EN

A growing, yet largely ignored, malnutrition crisis is unfolding in northwest Nigeria, which threatens the lives of tens of thousands of children, MSF warned. The situation will soon become untenable without increased lifesaving humanitarian support.

In the area of Gummi, Zamfara state, MSF teams conducted a screening of more than 36,000 children under five years old in June, following a nutrition alert. The results were alarming, as more than half the children were found to be malnourished. Of the total screened children, almost every fourth was severely malnourished and in need of urgent medical care. MSF, in cooperation with the authorities, is immediately launching an emergency response in the area. In Katsina, the teams quickly had to increase their inpatient capacity from 100 to nearly 280 beds in the last few weeks, but the influx of malnourished children was so significant that restricted admission criteria had to be introduced for some of the treatment centres. In Kebbi, where MSF runs an inpatient and two outpatient facilities, about 1,500 malnourished children have been treated since March.

A high-magnitude earthquake hit Khost and Paktika in Afghanistan on the night of 21 to 22 June. Hundreds of people are thought to have been killed, over a thousand wounded, and many homes have been destroyed and damaged. Following the earthquake, MSF sent teams of medical and logistical staff to the worst-affected areas.

In Bermal, Paktika Province, MSF has set up a 24-hour eight-bed clinic where patients are stabilised until they can be referred for further care. We are also supporting outpatient activities. In the first days, MSF received mostly trauma patients and an increase in diarrhoea cases, so there is a shift to provide more water and sanitation (WATSAN) support. Meanwhile, we have sent medical supplies, tents, and WATSAN supplies to Bermal and Gayan, also providing psychosocial first aid. We are also looking at solutions to ensure safe water and adequate sanitation for the population and the health facilities.