Urgent action is needed to save millions of children from malnutrition in northeast Nigeria, said Mohamed Fall, Resident Coordinator for Nigeria at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA).
Mr Fall made this known on Monday when he visited the Stabilisation Centre, a hospital dedicated to treating malnourished children, in Yola, Adamawa State, as part of activities to mark World Humanitarian Day (WHD2024).
The theme for the 2024 celebration is #ActForHumanity.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), an estimated 4.8 million people will be food insecure during the lean season and 230,000 children will be at risk of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.
A lean season response plan seeking $306 million to alleviate the crisis is only 30 percent funded.
“It is fitting that as we mark World Humanitarian Day 2024, we all stand in solidarity with the young children whose lives are at stake.
“With mothers struggling to feed their children, boys and girls who are missing out on a childhood.
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“Because circumstances have forced them to take on adult roles to help their families make ends meet, these people need our collective humanity,” she said.
He therefore called on partners to address the severe food insecurity and malnutrition affecting Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
Mohamed Fall, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in a group photo with mothers of malnourished children at the Yola Stabilization Centre
The coordinator stressed that stakeholders and government agencies must mobilize resources to support humanity and help children in need.
“I visited a stabilization center for malnourished children run by the government and supported by the International Rescue Committee and UNICEF here in Yola.
“The scenes I saw were heartbreaking because I saw babies fighting for their lives. It is inconceivable that we see this level of suffering today.
“We must come together to act for humanity and ensure that we can end its plight,” he said.
She expressed concern about the ability of families to afford the cost of treatment, hence the need for collective action to support humanity.
“Malnutrition also takes a huge toll on children’s physical and intellectual development, meaning they may never reach their full potential.
“I met mothers who were both hopeful and worried. They were hopeful that their children would recover soon, but they were also worried that their children might get sick again.
“Because they cannot access enough nutritious food to maintain their health and I share their concerns.
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“Our ability to support these efforts is rapidly diminishing because the resources we saw mobilized for COVID-19 response and global solidarity no longer exist.”
Malnutrition
However, he was optimistic about the support of the federal and state governments to address the situation.
“What gives me hope is that the state government, working with development partners, can bring hope to people in need.
“So, for me, the humanitarian space is one of the main spaces where humanity has its true expression.
“It is a space where you see humanitarian actors risking their lives to save the lives of others, to reduce vulnerability, to protect and help people recover,” he said.
Sani Mohammed, a doctor at the centre who was part of the team that took the UN Coordinator on a tour of the facility, said the centre received an average of 96,000 patients a year from within and outside the state.
(YAYA)