Nigeria Situation Report, 18 May 2024

Highlights

• Aid organizations alarmed by spike in numbers of malnourished children in north-east Nigeria.
• Joint mission by Federal Government officials highlights need to ramp up humanitarian response in north-east Nigeria.
• Borno State Government begins closure of Muna camp; resettles over 50,000 IDPs.

Background

Situation Overview

Aid organizations alarmed by spike in numbers of malnourished children in north-east Nigeria

Humanitarian organizations in north-east Nigeria have rung the alarm bell following a significant spike in the number of malnourished children in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) States. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported a significant increase in admissions of severely malnourished children with life-threatening complications across seven northern Nigeria states including the BAY states, with some states reporting twice as many admissions compared to 2023.

According to MSF reports, 1,250 severely malnourished children with complications were admitted to its inpatient therapeutic feeding centres across the BAY states in April 2024. This is double the number admitted in April 2023. By the end of May 2024, the MSF medical centres in the BAY states were accommodating 350 patients, surpassing the 200-bed capacity initially designated for the peak of the lean season which runs from June to August.

The nutrition sector in the BAY states, reported a 63 per cent increase in admissions of children with complicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) between January and April 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. It warned that the worsening nutrition situation had overstretched the healthcare system with bed occupancy rates at 100 per cent very early in the lean season.

Nutrition surveillance data collected in April among those displaced from hard-to-reach and/or remote communities in the BAY states reported an estimated 18 per cent prevalence of SAM and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) among children ages 6-59 months. The surveillance data also reported a 1.2 per cent increase in the prevalence of children suffering from malnutrition and a 0.9 per cent increase in the number of children with SAM compared to March 2024, indicative of a critical nutrition situation and a worsening trend.

Since January, humanitarian partners in the BAY states have been providing either food or cash transfers to support displaced people living in camps or with host communities, as well as vulnerable host populations. With diminishing resources, partners have reached over 1.1 million vulnerable people with food assistance out of 4.8 million in need. Despite the alarming situation, the overall humanitarian response remains inadequate. In May, while launching the 2024 Lean Season Food Security and Nutrition Crisis Multisector Plan in Abuja, the United Nations and the Nigerian authorities jointly launched an appeal for $306 million to provide urgent food assistance to vulnerable populations in the BAY states. This is in addition to nutrition supplies and services, clean water, healthcare, and protection support for communities in severe need.

With the release of $11 million from the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund (NHF), humanitarians have stepped up their response to meet the immediate needs of the 2.8 million people affected by the food and nutrition crisis out of 4.8 million in need. In addition to addressing the immediate needs, longer-term solutions to address the issue are being explored. Leading these efforts, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently distributed farm inputs to 26,725 households for the 2024 wet season farming to ensure viable and sustainable food security in Borno State.

Funding for the ongoing humanitarian response in the BAY states remains a major challenge. As of 12 June, the 2024 HRP, which needs $926.5M, is only 20.5 per cent funded. The nutrition sector has reported that the Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and Ready-to-Use Supplementary Food (RUSF) pipelines may break in July due to an increase in acute malnutrition admissions during the first quarter of 2024. If admissions remain at the same level, the utilisation of RUTF and RUSF stocks will be much higher than the estimated target for the second quarter of 2024 and the two pipelines for the rest of the year. There is a need to procure commodities immediately to avert a stockout and secure RUTF and RUSF to treat some 390,000 acutely malnourished children during the lean season.

Joint mission by Federal Government officials highlights need to ramp up humanitarian response in north-east Nigeria

A joint mission by technical officers from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the Office of the Vice President, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) highlighted the need to scale up the humanitarian response in the BAY states. Facilitated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the mission aimed to provide the visiting government officials with a holistic understanding of the prevailing humanitarian situation in the deep field locations of the BAY states. It also sought to foster collaboration between government agencies and humanitarian organizations ensuring a more effective and harmonized response to humanitarian challenges, while improving coordination structures and systems.

The delegation visited Bama, Yobe and Yola, and interacted with the humanitarian partners operating in these areas. The visit enabled them to assess the state of the nutrition stabilisation centres, water and sanitation hygiene (WASH) facilities, education and healthcare provision in various IDP camps, including two informal ones in Muna and Jere.

On the return and resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the delegation observed that the IDPs are willing to return to their ancestral homes. However, there is a need for increased security to enable them to settle and engage in productive livelihood activities for sustainability.

On coordination, the delegates noted that there’s a need for more interaction between the state governments and the humanitarian partners both at the federal and state levels to develop durable solutions.

On the food and nutrition crisis, they noted the urgent need for the provision of RUTF for malnourished children across the BAY states. This is in addition to the need for the deployment of national healthcare workers, including nurses and doctors to support the treatment of malnourished children, pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls. They also recommended that the State Ministries liaise with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to act on this recommendation.

On livelihood support, the delegates called on the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to explore ways of enrolling IDPs living in camps in social intervention schemes to facilitate their quicksettlement.

On WASH facilities in IDP camps, the delegates urged the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation to urgently engage with states to mobilize officials to manage waste management in various camps. They also called for the deployment of health officials to manage the health situation in the various camps especially in Bama and Jere Local Government Areas (LGAs).

On partnerships, the delegates called for increased collaboration between the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and UNOCHA in coordinating humanitarian activities in the BAY states.

The delegates recommended regular joint missions to the BAY states.

Borno State Government begins closure of Muna camp; resettles over 50,000 IDPs

On 7 June, the Borno State Government began the closure of Muna camp, one of the largest camps for IDPs in Maiduguri. Over 11,000 households with 50,000 IDPs from nine LGAs, including Bama, Dikwa, Gwoza, Jere, Konduga, Kukawa, Ngala, Mafa and Marte live in the camp. Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, who flagged off the camp closure, emphasized the need for IDPs to return home, assuring them of a dignified process that followed the Kampala Convention.

A flagship intention survey conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in April revealed that only 37 per cent of the IDPs interviewed expressed willingness to return to their place of origin, while a similar proportion (38%) plan to integrate into their current location. The primary factors influencing both groups include the reconstruction of damaged shelters in their places of origin and the favourable security situation in their current place of displacement. Additionally, those who preferred to return cited a lack of financial resources, limited economic opportunities and insecurity—which makes return locations inaccessible—as their main reasons for delaying their return.

The Government mobilized 621 households among the first batch of IDPs to be returned from the camp including 226 households to Bama, 28 households to Ngala, 242 households to Konduga, 12 households to Jere and 113 households to Gwoza. The Borno State Government has allocated 954.7 million Naira (about $648,588) for this exercise, with 100,000 naira ($67.9) provided to each of the 4,880 male-headed and 1,230 female-headed households as well as 50,0000 naira ($33.9) to married women in the camp. In addition, items such as mattresses, mats and cooking utensils were provided to the returning IDPs.

Borno state authorities shut down nine official IDP camps in and around Maiduguri between May 2021 and December 2022. A resettlement package consisting of food items and agricultural inputs was provided to help them restart their lives. The Government also put security measures in place to ensure the safety of the returnees. These measures include the excavation of trenches, the construction of watch towers, the presence of military outposts, and the deployment of police to the locations of return. Humanitarian partners on the ground reported that despite the Government efforts, many of those returning to their LGAs and villages still lack access to farmland and means of livelihood.

Humanitarians will continue to advocate for the voluntary and safe return of IDPs to locations of their choice and for IDP resettlement programmes to conform with international norms.