The Kaduna State Nutrition Officer, Armature Musa, hasthat revealed more than 30,000 children are battling severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
Musa said 30,089 children received treatment for SAM in 2025 under the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) programme across the state’s 23 local government areas, while a total of 60,193 children were admitted with the condition during the same period.
She disclosed this on Wednesday in Kaduna at a one-day advocacy meeting attended by the wife of the state governor and the spouses of chairpersons of the 23 LGAs.
The meeting, according to her, was aimed at strengthening advocacy, leadership commitment and resource mobilisation to improve nutrition outcomes at the community level.
Musa said Nigeria is currently witnessing a worsening malnutrition trend, with national data from 2018 to 2023/2024 showing that stunting increased from 37 per cent to 40 per cent, wasting rose from 7 per cent to 8 per cent, and underweight prevalence climbed from 22 per cent to 27 per cent. She added that the proportion of overweight children declined from 2 per cent to 1 per cent during the period.
Despite the national outlook, Musa noted that Kaduna recorded the best performance in the North-West region, with a stunting rate of 40.7 per cent, according to the 2023/2024 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).
She explained that the state has made progress in addressing chronic malnutrition, as stunting declined from 48.1 per cent to 40.7 per cent. However, she expressed concern over the rise in acute malnutrition, noting that wasting increased from 4.8 per cent to 5.9 per cent, while the underweight rate rose from 22.1 per cent to 24.7 percent.
According to her, the figures indicate a growing burden of acute malnutrition and a deterioration in the overall nutritional status of children in the state.
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Musa said IMAM interventions focus on early detection through routine screening, treatment and rehabilitation of severely malnourished children at designated centres, as well as community-based awareness and support initiatives.
She identified key challenges hindering progress, including the poor functionality of nutrition steering committees chaired by the wives of some local government chairpersons, insufficient funding for nutrition programmes at both state and local levels, and limited coverage of IMAM services, which currently reach only about 64 per cent of wards in the state.
To address the gaps, Musa called for stronger leadership engagement, regular meetings of LGA nutrition committees, dedicated budgetary allocations for nutrition, and the expansion of IMAM services to underserved communities.
