By MUHAMMAD LAWAL

Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said it has recorded a 74.1 per cent increase in the admission of malnourished children into its facilities across Kebbi from Jan. to June 2025.

Dr Hamza Bello, a Senior Medical Doctor working with the NGO, disclosed this while interacting with Journalists at the Maiyama Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centre (ITFC), Maiyama Local Government Area of Kebbi.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the facilities had recorded a 74.1 per cent increase from January to June, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.

Bello added that from Jan. to May this year, 24,784 children were admitted in Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centers (ITFCs), while 107,461 were treated in Outpatient Therapeutic Programmes (OTPs), indicating 13 per cent increase compared to 2024.

According to him, OTPs are facilities for treating uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) cases.

He lamented that there was an unprecedented increase in Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) admission, where about 400 children were on admission on a particular day in the state.

While assuring that month of August was the peak when the situation “is expected to be worst”, Bello lamented that MSF remained the only International Non Governmental Organisation (INGO) treating malnutrition in Kebbi.

He observed that some patients had to travel 100 kilometres to access services, adding that MSF was overwhelmed, hence the need for urgent multi-actors support.

The medical expert also disclosed that MSF had treated 300,000 malnourished children across Nigeria in 2024, adding that the NGO was operating nutrition programmes in seven states of the federation.

He listed the states to include; Kano, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Bauchi, and Borno, with 11 Stabilisation Centers (SCs) and more than 30 Outpatient Therapeutic Programmes (OPTs).

Bello stressed the need for the state government to ensure adequate Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) supplies, explaining, “it’s a special type of food designed to treat severe acute malnutrition in children.”

He also advocated the ramping up of preventive and curative nutrition efforts, stronger Primary Health Care (PHC), vaccination, malaria control and community-based intervention with government and donor support.

The medical expert also called on authorities and actors to prioritise infant and young child feeding, nutrition, counselling and access to nutritious food, and expedite 774 nutrition initiative with resources and mobile resources for both immediate and long term interventions.

Giving their testimonies, Malama Shamsiya Muhammad-Sani from Aliero in Aliero LGA and Malama Habiba Salihu from Jandutse village in Jega LGA, said the infants were in critical condition due to malnutrition, they almost lost hope in their survival.

They explained that on visiting the MSF facility at Maiyama, they were not only admitted and treated free-of-charge but also provided with free three square meals, soap, detergent and cups for the whole of their stay in the hospital.

The mothers said they lacked adjectives that would truly qualify and portray their happiness to the NGO, praying for the success of the organisation in all ramifications.

They urged MSF to sustain its humanitarian efforts with a view to saving more children’s lives. (NAN)