80,000 Malnourished Children in Nigeria Face Aid Shortage as UNICEF Warns of Critical Funding Crisis

GENEVA – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued a stark warning that it will run out of its stock of life-saving food supplies for treating children suffering from severe malnutrition in Nigeria within the next month due to a lack of funding. The crisis is compounded by significant cuts to foreign aid, particularly from the United States.

Approximately 1.3 million children under the age of five in Nigeria and Ethiopia are at risk of losing access to critical support this year due to severe acute malnutrition. In Nigeria alone, UNICEF estimates that it may run out of supplies to feed 80,000 malnourished children by the end of March 2025 if additional funding is not secured.

“Without new funding, we will run out of our supply chain of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in the coming weeks, and that means that 80,000 children in Nigeria will no longer have access to this life-saving treatment,” said UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Kitty Van der Heijden, during a virtual briefing from Abuja on Friday. “Interruption to continuous treatment is life-threatening.”

UNICEF’s funding issues have been exacerbated by recent cuts in international aid, particularly following a 90-day pause on U.S. foreign aid, ordered by the Trump administration upon his return to the White House. This suspension, along with cuts to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, has significantly disrupted global humanitarian relief efforts, including food and medical aid programs vital for millions of children.

“These funding cuts will lead to a child survival crisis,” warned Van der Heijden, emphasizing the severe consequences for vulnerable children in Nigeria and beyond. In addition to food shortages, funding cuts have also impacted health programs, including nutrition and malaria care for pregnant women and children, further worsening the crisis in Nigeria and other affected regions.

The interruption of services, including the operation of mobile health clinics, is particularly devastating. In some regions, such as Afar in Ethiopia, only a fraction of mobile health clinics remain operational due to the lack of funds, severely limiting access to essential health care and nutrition.

As the situation in Nigeria worsens, UNICEF is urging international donors to step in with immediate funding to prevent a broader humanitarian catastrophe.