MSF Raises Alarm  over Increasing Cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition in the North East 

……….calls for collaborative efforts to address the scourge

By Bashir Hassan Abubakar

An International body of medical professionals , Medicine Sans Frontier (MSF)  has expressed concerns over the increasing numbers of children affected by Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the Northern part of Nigeria and other regions where they are working.

Hadiza Sani with her twin daughters at home after they were discharged from the hospital where the children were treated of malnutrition.

A press release signed and issued by Abdulkareem Haruna, MSF’s spokesperson in the North East Region of Nigeria said that the alarming trend SAM among children is a cause for concern and  therefore calls for urgent need for humanitarian assistance to be scaled up, with a view to mitigating the child killer affliction.

Medicine Sans Frontier, also known as Doctors without borders said that, as an organization, they are committed to providing medical care to those in need, but that they cannot do it alone.

Abdulrahman’s mother feeding her child with milk through nasogastric tube. Abdulrahman is one of the several other children receiving treatment for malnutrition at the MSF supported ITFC in Sokoto Specialist Hospital, Nigeria.

MSF therefore urged other organizations and authorities at all levels to come together and address this crisis.
MSF also called on the media to support the humanitarian organisation  in disseminating the critical information that would raise awareness about the disturbing trend on SAM among children and also mobilize the necessary resources to provide relief to affected populations.

Our correspondent reports that the North East Region of Nigeria has the highest burden of Malnutrition among children and in many cases degenerating into severe acute malnutrition.

Other world bodies like WHO, UNICEF, USAID etc have also expressed similar concerns and calls for concerted efforts from both States and non State Actors to mitigate Malnutrition in the region.

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