Roots of the malnutrition crisis in Nigeria
Migratory herders in Nigeria have been moving southward in recent years as environmental degradation and the impacts of climate change have reduced the available fertile land. Violence and insecurity in traditional grazing areas in the north are also forcing herders into the north-central region of the country, leading to clashes with sedentary farmer communities.
In addition, armed groups regularly raid towns and loot property, and the instability is preventing people from accessing farmland. “People don’t have access to their lands anymore, which means they have less food,” said Froukje Pelsma, MSF’s former head of mission in Nigeria. At the same time, government food distributions are sporadic and unreliable.
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, an estimated 78 percent of people in northwest Nigeria live below the poverty line. Health care is often unaffordable or hard to access, and many children have never been vaccinated against common childhood diseases. A very limited amount of international aid reaches the region. All these factors have contributed to the growing numbers of malnourished children in urgent need of treatment.
Government food distributions are sporadic and unreliable, and access to farms is insecure and risky. In the summer of 2023, MSF discovered that many residents of Ortese camp in Benue state had resorted to eating cassava peel due to the lack of food, resulting in upper gastrointestinal disorders.
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