* As Medecine Sans Frontiers Blames Development Major On Poor Leadership, Insecurity And Preventive Diseases
By Okey Ndulue (Health Reporter, in Abuja)
A foreign based health and human development organization, Medecine Sans Frontiers (MSF) has revealed that about 52, 725 Children in Northern Nigeria are currently in the throes of severe malnutrition arising from hunger and starvation, poor food supply, Insecurity and bad leadership in the country.
MSF also disclosed that between January and August this year (M8 2024), children across the core Northern states of Nigeria were treated for severe malnutrition.
The International President of MSF, Christos Christou, made this startling disclosure in Abuja at the weekend during an interactive with journalists on his tour to Nigeria, stating that his organization, Medecine Sans Frontiers has observed a major upward shift in the number of admissions for malnutrition for five consecutive years. He said the numbers in 2022 and 2023 were already critically high, adding that in M8 2024 MSF saw a 51 per cent hike in admissions of children with severe malnutrition, compared with M8 2023.
Christou said: “On top of this, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles are recurrent in Nigeria, and one of the leading causes of death amongst children. Between January and August this year alone, we had already treated over 12,500 cases of measles. That’s nearly double the same period last year.
“Outbreaks of infectious diseases significantly increase mortality risks for children under the age of five. Unvaccinated children in this age group are particularly vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases; diseases which elevate the risk of acute malnutrition.”
Christou however revealed that his observation points to why the scale of massive flooding in Maiduguri, Borno state capital, affected millions of persons and consequently attracted global attention. He said the effects of flooding in other parts of Nigeria were not as much as what he saw in Maiduguri.
He lamented that Northern Nigeria residents in general have had a raw deal this season, including overwhelming levels of malnutrition, frequent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, a lack of medical facilities and medical personnel.
“All of this has been compounded by continuous insecurity. People now have to seek temporary shelter in displacement camps once again, rebuild their homes once again, and try to figure out what’s left of their farmlands. Because this flooding happened at the end of the lean season, it has deprived farmers of even the illusory hope to harvest".
Christou further said: "l visited hospitals and clinics in Maiduguri where our organization worked. We support the local healthcare system in tackling malaria and other diseases, as well as in providing access to maternity services. We recently launched a cholera treatment centre after an outbreak was officially declared.
“All this has happened in the background of a catastrophic malnutrition crisis. One of my colleagues, a Nigerian doctor who has been working with MSF for more than eight years, told me that this year is very different. Every year, during this season, we see terrible numbers of malnourished children coming to the hospital in severe condition.
"But this year, at a time when the peak is supposed to be over, the number of patients admitted to the hospital is not going down. Worse, the condition in which they arrive is even more severe than usual. Very often people don’t have access even to basic medical care where they live, and do not have enough money or available transport. As a result, they reach to us too late", Christou further disclosed. NNL.