EU COMMITS OVER N900 MILLION TO COMBAT MALNUTRITION IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA 13-06-25
By Sadiq Aminu The European Union has allocated €500,000—equivalent to over ₦900 million in humanitarian assistance to tackle the growing malnutrition crisis in Nigeria’s northeastern and northwestern regions.
The funding will support the Nigeria Red Cross Society in delivering life-saving aid to approximately 170,000 households, particularly focusing on vulnerable children and mothers suffering from severe acute malnutrition across nine states: Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
According to the EU, the intervention will directly aid over 30,000 children in need of urgent treatment, through a combination of community outreach, nutritional screening, and the provision of ready-to-use therapeutic food.
Severe cases requiring specialized care will be referred to health centers, following national health protocols.
The initiative will also scale up access to water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection services, while aiming to improve the medium-term resilience of affected families.
This support comes as part of the EU’s contribution to the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) under the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), within the framework of a broader €12 million humanitarian partnership agreement.
Current estimates indicate that 5.44 million children under five in Nigeria are acutely malnourished, with 2 million projected to require life-saving treatment during the lean season from June to September 2025.
The nutrition crisis has been exacerbated by conflict, insecurity, economic hardship, climate shocks, and poor maternal-child nutrition practices, especially in states affected by displacement and degraded health infrastructure.
The EU reiterated its commitment to providing humanitarian aid based on need, emphasizing solidarity with the most vulnerable populations.