By Huldah Shado
The European Union has allocated €500,000 (over ₦900 million) to tackle the worsening malnutrition crisis in northern Nigeria, particularly in the conflict-affected northeast.
In a statement released Friday, the EU said the funding will enable the Nigeria Red Cross Society to provide emergency aid to 170,000 vulnerable households in nine northern states; Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
The intervention will target more than 30,000 children in need of urgent treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
Efforts will include community outreach, screening, and outpatient care using ready-to-use therapeutic food. More complex cases will be referred to health facilities for advanced care, in line with national health protocols.
Beyond emergency nutrition, the Red Cross will scale up support in water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection services to enhance long-term family resilience.
The EU funding forms part of its contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Currently, an estimated 5.44 million children under five in Nigeria’s northeast and northwest regions are acutely malnourished. Of these, two million in the northeast alone are projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition and will require lifesaving care, particularly during the lean season from June to September 2025.
Earlier this year, UNICEF raised alarm over the scale of the crisis. Speaking in January, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, described the situation as dire, warning that an additional one million children could face acute malnutrition by April 2025.
“In Zamfara State alone, 1.2 million children are at risk, with 250,000 already suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition,” she said.
Munduate added that stunting affects 45.2% of children aged 0 to 5 years, while one in every ten children is at risk of death from wasting.
