Nearly six million children in northern Nigeria are suffering severe acute malnutrition

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Overview

It is projected that nearly 6 million children aged 0-59 months have likely been suffering and will likely continue to suffer from acute malnutrition in the period of May 2022 – April 2023 in Northwest and Northeast Nigeria. This includes 1,623,130 Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) cases and 4,308,404 Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) cases. In addition, 511,890 pregnant and lactating women will likely be acutely malnourished and in need of nutrition interventions.

In the current period of May – September 2022, more than half of the 134 Local Government Areas (LGAs) included in the analysis are in IPC Acute Malnutrition (AMN) Phase 3 and above.

Of the 63 LGAs analysed in Northeast Nigeria, 13 were classified in IPC AMN Phase 4 (Critical), 17 in Phase 3 (Serious) 30 in Phase 2 (Alert) and 3 in Phase 1 (Acceptable). In Northwest Nigeria, there were 71 LGAs with sufficient data. Of those 71 LGAs, 17 were classified in IPC AMN Phase 4 (Critical), 25 in Phase 3 (Serious), 28 in Phase 2 (Alert) and 1 in Phase 1 (Acceptable).

Although acute malnutrition levels are expected to improve slightly during the two projected periods of October – December 2022 and January – April 2023, the majority of the LGAs will likely still remain in IPC AMN Phase 3 and above, indicating Critical and Serious levels of acute malnutrition

Nearly six million children in northern Nigeria are suffering severe acute malnutrition
Source: Philippines Legacy PH