(Katsina) Lariya Abdulkareem’s family grew sorghum and beans near their village in northwestern Nigeria, before the threat of ‘bandits’ forced them to abandon their land.
Posted at 7:01 a.m.
Feeding her family is increasingly difficult as insecurity on the roads in her state of Katsina makes it difficult to deliver maize, millet and soybeans, laments Mme Abdulkareem, 40 years old and already a grandmother.
According to health authorities and NGOs, his family is among thousands of others whose children are suffering from acute malnutrition in northwestern Nigeria where insecurity and rising food prices have worsened an already alarming situation in Nigeria. this extremely poor region.
“We used to cultivate, but we can no longer access” the land, as before, insists Mme Abdulkareem hugs his malnourished 7-month-old granddaughter at a clinic supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Rural areas in northwestern Nigeria are ravaged by criminal gangs, the “bandits”, who loot, attack, kill and kidnap villagers for ransom. They lead their attacks from their camps deep in the forests that cover much of the region.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been thrown onto the roads, fleeing the violence, while thousands more have been killed. The number of victims of these gangs now exceeds that of the conflict in the northeast of the country born of the 13-year-old jihadist insurgency.
“Desperate situation”
Most international aid organizations in Nigeria are in the northeast, where more than 2 million people have been displaced by the conflict, but very few have programs in the northwest.
And yet, the recent deterioration of the security situation in the region is responsible for a surge in malnutrition. In five northwestern states, 44,500 children have already been admitted to hospitals as malnourished between January and June this year. In Katsina alone, aid agencies and health authorities are preparing to treat 100,000 children this year.
Across the city, hundreds of mothers come to clinics every day for help.
In Kofar Sauri, for example, mothers share their children’s beds in dozens of tents set up in the hospital courtyard. The facility can treat up to 250 patients, but currently admits 350.
MSF says it wants to increase capacity to 500 beds in Katsina, to deal with the outbreak of complicated cases. Those requiring hospitalization have already increased by 40% in the past week.
Record inflation
Under crowded tents, children under five are weighed, measured and diagnosed. They often suffer from other illnesses, malaria or measles, according to medical staff.
“We have measles, food shortages and with the bandits, we have a lot of displaced people. All of this has serious consequences for children, ”insists the Dr Yakubu Abubakar, pediatrician in an MSF clinic.
“And that’s only in one state. »
MSF says it conducted tests in June on 36,000 children under the age of five in Gummi, in neighboring Zamfara state. More than half suffered from malnutrition and a quarter, suffering from severe malnutrition, needed urgent care.
“The plight of malnourished children in northwestern Nigeria cannot continue to be overlooked,” Froukje Pelsma, MSF head of mission in Nigeria, said in a statement.
Since the start of the year, 20,000 people have fled violence by “bandits” in three areas of Jibiya, a local government official and residents said.
“People are afraid of being kidnapped, killed or displaced,” explains Nuhu Iliya, director of health for the local government of Jibiya.
“Parents are struggling to find enough to eat, babies and children are suffering.”
Northwestern Nigeria is often plagued by food shortages, particularly during the dry season when crop supplies run out. In all, the region has eight million children suffering from malnutrition, according to UNICEF.
Added to this now are the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted global grain supplies and fuel prices have increased, causing food prices to soar in many African countries.
In June, Nigeria recorded inflation of 18.6%, a 5-year high, with food inflation reaching 20%.