The European Union has pledged €500,000 (approximately ₦900 million) in humanitarian assistance to combat the growing malnutrition crisis in Nigeria’s North-East and North-West regions.
According to a statement released on Friday, the EU said the funds would support emergency nutrition interventions targeting children and mothers suffering from severe acute malnutrition. The initiative will be executed through the Nigeria Red Cross Society and aims to reach an estimated 170,000 vulnerable households across Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara states.
“In response to the alarming levels of malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria, the European Union is allocating €500,000 in humanitarian aid to provide emergency assistance to children and mothers suffering from severe acute malnutrition,” the EU noted in its statement.
Key elements of the response include community outreach, screening, and outpatient care for children with uncomplicated cases of severe acute malnutrition. More serious cases will be referred to health centres for specialised treatment in line with national health protocols.
The EU also highlighted that the intervention will provide lifesaving therapeutic food to more than 30,000 children urgently in need of treatment. The programme will further enhance the Red Cross’s ongoing healthcare and nutrition efforts in the affected regions.
Beyond immediate relief, the EU-funded intervention seeks to build resilience in vulnerable communities by improving access to clean water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection services.
The support forms part of the EU’s broader partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, through its Disaster Response Emergency Fund. This fund allows for swift action in crises that may not attract major international responses.
The EU noted that the crisis is severe: “In the North-East (Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe) and North-West (Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara), an estimated 5.44 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. Of these, two million are projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition requiring urgent care, particularly during the June–September lean season.”
Experts attribute the rising malnutrition levels to ongoing armed conflict, insecurity, displacement, economic hardship, and climate-related shocks like flooding. Inadequate maternal and child feeding practices also remain major contributing factors.
The European Commission’s humanitarian aid office emphasized that this funding reaffirms the EU’s commitment to supporting urgent humanitarian needs both in Nigeria and globally.
