The Bauchi State Government has released N300m to the Child Nutrition Fund managed by UNICEF, as part of efforts to eradicate malnutrition among children in the state.

The Chief of UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, Nuzhat Rafique, disclosed this on Wednesday during an interaction with journalists.

She explained that UNICEF would also provide a matching grant of N300m, bringing the total intervention fund to N600m.

According to her, the fund release followed the familiarisation visit of the new UNICEF Country Representative, Wafaa Saeed, to the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed.

Rafique said, “We are grateful to His Excellency, the Governor of Bauchi State, for releasing the promised N300m to UNICEF. This is a great milestone in our advocacy efforts. UNICEF will match the same amount, which will significantly help in tackling malnutrition in the state.”

She revealed that local government councils under ALGON also contributed N100m to the fund, stressing that the intervention would support the procurement of nutrition supplies, ready-to-use therapeutic food, to save malnourished children.

The UNICEF official further said that Governor Mohammed had promised to increase the state’s contribution to N1bn next year, which UNICEF also pledged to match.

Rafique emphasised the need for long-term strategies, including behaviour change and local solutions, to prevent malnutrition.

She noted that UNICEF’s focus was not only on treatment but also on promoting proper child feeding practices and maternal care from conception through the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.

She added, “No child should suffer malnutrition. It affects physical growth, cognitive development, and overall well-being. Prevention is better than treatment. We must work with traditional leaders, LGAs, religious leaders, and communities to change the narrative.”

Saeed, during her visit to Bauchi and Plateau states, also commended the role of community groups, traditional rulers, and local authorities in supporting nutrition programmes.

The acute child malnutrition in the North, stating the malnutrition crisis in Northern Nigeria is grave, with nearly 5.4 million children aged 0-59 months suffering from acute malnutrition in the North-West and North-East, expected to persist through 2025, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation reports that 3.7 million children in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe are malnourished.

UNICEF’s April 2025 report highlights that 8.8 million people need assistance, including 4.9 million children, warning that food insecurity, poor healthcare, ongoing security issues, and disease outbreaks drive the crisis. Médecins Sans Frontières screenings in Zamfara State found that 27% of 97,149 children suffer from acute malnutrition, with 5% severely affected.

Crucially, in July 2025, MSF reported that up to 652 children died from malnutrition in Katsina State within the first six months of the year, attributing the deaths to donor funding cuts amid persistent violence and insecurity.

Despite a 33.7% rise in Nigeria’s 2025 nutrition budget to N170 billion, chronic challenges such as high food inflation, poverty, and weak health services undermine progress.

UNICEF notes Nigeria has the world’s second-highest rate of stunted children, at 32% nationally, with northern states bearing the greatest burden. Climate change, displacement, cultural practices, and governance gaps worsen the situation.

UNICEF emphasises, “Malnutrition slows development and leads directly to suffering and death,” urging increased government commitment, expanded therapeutic feeding programs, enhanced local food production, better vaccine coverage, and security restoration to reverse this crisis.

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