The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has sounded the alarm over the nutritional crisis facing children in Kano State, revealing that 51.9 percent are stunted, a sign that more than one in every two children is not growing properly due to chronic malnutrition.
The warning came during the official handover of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in Takai Local Government Area, an initiative funded jointly by the government and UNICEF under the Child Nutrition Match Fund.
Speaking at the event, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in Kano, Rahma Farah—represented by Health Manager Dr. Serekeberehan Deres—explained that the statistics paint a troubling picture of children’s health in the state. He added that over 10 percent of children in Kano are “wasted,” meaning they are dangerously underweight for their height, often due to recent and severe weight loss.
Dr. Deres warned that wasting dramatically raises the risk of death if left untreated and described child malnutrition as a major public health emergency demanding urgent and coordinated action. He called for greater investment in both nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions, especially during the crucial first 1,000 days of life.
He appealed to government bodies, civil society, and religious and traditional leaders to step up efforts to combat malnutrition by improving access to essential nutrition services, education, clean water, and healthcare. Farah stressed that investing in child nutrition is among the most cost-effective strategies for driving national development.
Kano State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to tackling the crisis. He noted that new programmes aimed at maternal and child health have already been launched and pledged continued collaboration with UNICEF and other development partners to bring down malnutrition rates and improve survival and growth outcomes for children.
Malnutrition remains one of the leading contributors to child mortality and poor educational performance in Nigeria, with the northern region bearing a significant share of the burden.
What you should know
UNICEF’s latest figures show an alarming 51.9% stunting rate and over 10% wasting rate among children in Kano State, underscoring a deep-rooted malnutrition crisis.
The organisation is urging urgent investments in early-life nutrition, clean water, healthcare, and education to reverse the trend, warning that the condition is a major threat to child survival, development, and Nigeria’s overall progress.
