The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of a sharp rise in child hunger and malnutrition in North-East Nigeria, saying admissions have soared by 18 percent in the past year.
According to the humanitarian organisation, nearly 20,000 malnutrition cases were recorded between January and September 2026 across six health centres and four hospitals it supports. That is up from about 17,000 cases within the same nine months in 2025.
The ICRC disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday, October 15, ahead of World Food Day which is marked every October 16. The statement was signed by its representatives Aliyu Dawobe in Abuja and Mateo Jaramillo in Nairobi.
The group said young children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are the worst hit.
The worst spike was recorded in Mubi, Adamawa State, where admissions rose by almost 24 percent — from about 4,600 in 2025 to about 5,700 in 2026.
At the Mubi Stabilisation Centre, the ICRC said mothers queue daily for nutritional screening and therapeutic food for their children.
One of them, Zulaihatu Mohammed, brought her six-month-old twin daughter Huseina for treatment.
“When I gave birth to them, this one was tiny. She is not feeling well. Since I gave birth to her, she has been unwell,” she said.
The ICRC linked the rise to 15 years of armed conflict, climate shocks and economic hardship that have disrupted farming and cut families off from food and markets.
A farmer in the area, Saminu Samiyu Ijaduwa, said many farmers can no longer access distant farmlands due to fear of explosive devices.
“Going one kilometre out of town to farm could be highly risky. You might not return,” he said.
The warning comes as over 34 million Nigerians are projected to face hunger in 2026, according to a UN food security analysis cited by the ICRC, placing Nigeria among the world’s hunger hotspots alongside Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza.
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