North West Gets £10m EU Support To Tackle Malnutrition
The European Union (EU) is putting £10 million into nutrition programmes in northwest Nigeria, where up to 2.8 million children across the region need urgent nutrition support.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Mohamed Malick Fall, announced the funding arrangement in Abuja on Thursday at the High-Level Conference on Mobilising Against Malnutrition.
The conference was jointly organised by Katsina State Government and Médecins Sans Frontières, with support from the European Union, UNICEF Nigeria, and other development partners.
He disclosed that over three million Nigerian children under five suffer from severe acute malnutrition, with two million still awaiting life-saving support.
He said that the UN and partners have reached one million children with treatment but warned that every delay steals a child’s future.
Fall urged governors across the northwest to release funds, mobilise teams, and support staff in stabilisation centres, stressing that solutions are available and Nigeria already produces nutrition commodities.
The Coordinator praised Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State for his leadership in Katsina and as Chairman of the North West Governors Forum.
“Thank you, Governor Radda, for convening us today. Your leadership is key. You unlock financing, ensure accountability, and drive action,” he said.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator promised to coordinate additional donations from the World Bank, World Food Programme, and international NGOs for the entire northwest region.
In his opening remarks, Radda acknowledged the malnutrition crisis and outlined the state’s comprehensive response, including programmes to ensure food security and secure communities.
“We have accepted there is a malnutrition crisis, and all efforts are towards addressing the menace head-on,” the governor stated.
In her closing remark, the Director-General of the Northwest Governors Forum, Maryam Yahaya, presented stark statistics from the 2024 Northwest Nutrition Survey, revealing that 16.6 per cent of children under five in Sokoto State suffer acute malnutrition, 11.6 per cent in Katsina, and 10.4 per cent in Zamfara.
She disclosed that 2.8 million children across the region need urgent nutrition support, representing a 40 per cent increase in two years.
“In Katsina, half of all children are stunted—too short for their age, too undernourished to learn, too weak to thrive,” she said.
The forum committed to rolling out the Northwest Nutrition Roadmap 2025–2028, a joint plan coordinating states, partners, and data under one framework.
