Bauchi— In Bauchi state, like other states in northern Nigeria, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are witnessing an unprecedented surge in malnutrition. An expanded response is needed to deliver critical care to children and their families.

We are rapidly scaling up our medical response. On top of increasing bed capacity at the inpatient therapeutic feeding centre in Ganjuwa local governate area, we are launching a community-integrated programme to identify and train people to diagnose and treat malnutrition at an early stage.

Bauchi state, along with the majority of northern Nigeria, is facing a malnutrition crisis. Across Nigeria, MSF teams have seen rates of malnutrition admissions rise on average 40 per cent from the same period last year.
 

In Bauchi, more than 5,780 children were admitted in our inpatient therapeutic feeding centre and more than 17,220 were seen at our three outpatient therapeutic feeding centres between January and June 2024. The number of admissions increased by 127 per cent for inpatient care and 123 per cent for outpatient care during the same period in 2023. Outpatient therapeutic feeding centres support malnourished children before they need to be admitted for inpatient care.

“We are very alarmed by the catastrophic increase in malnutrition admissions we have seen in Bauchi in the first half of 2024,” says Rabi Adamou, MSF’s project coordinator in Bauchi. “Although there may be many factors compounding this increase in admissions, the numbers we are seeing are incredibly high. We are only just entering the peak season for malnutrition and our facilities are over capacity and having to expand.”

MSF has been supporting the local health system in Bauchi since 2012 by responding to outbreaks of diseases like cholera, diphtheria, and Lassa fever, and providing healthcare, training medical staff, and conducting health promotion activities in communities.

Since 2022, MSF has been responding to the huge numbers of children suffering from malnutrition. Our teams currently run a 250-bed inpatient therapeutic feeding centre and an inpatient paediatric department in Kafin Madaki General hospital. We also support three outpatient therapeutic feeding centres in Kafin Madaki, Kafin Liman and Miya healthcare centres.

New community-based activities are also planned. The integrated community case management programme aims to expand the existing community-based approach to include the treatment of malnutrition.

This pilot programme in eight villages in Miya started in mid-July. To respond to the increasing number of admissions for malnutrition in the region, MSF added malnutrition treatment to the programme’s conventional activities, which include malaria and diarrhoea diagnosis and treatment.

“Given the multifaceted causes of malnutrition, it is imperative the response is equally comprehensive and spans multiple sectors,” says Nathalie Avril, MSF nutrition advisor. “This includes not only treatment but also preventative measures. Recognising the geographically widespread nature of people’s needs, the response must mirror this extent, ensuring a broad and multidisciplinary approach to help offer children this care.”

An activity for parents on the use of the mid-upper arm circumference tool will also be implemented in Bauchi. This activity trains parents and caretakers on how to measure children’s arms at home using the tool. With this, they will be able to monitor and detect malnutrition in children at an earlier stage, before severe cases develop.

“Despite the collective efforts, many challenges remain like limited access to healthcare, the lack of qualified medical staff in health facilities, provisions of medications and ready to use therapeutic foods,” says Adamou. “All of which are essential to treat children with malnutrition.”

“It is crucial that Bauchi state representatives, as well as national and international stakeholders, work together and expand the response to help deliver this critical care to children and families and prevent further increase in malnutrition numbers in the years to come,” he says.