ICRC footage of mothers and children at the Mubi Stabilisation Centre, Adamawa State, and farmers affected by insecurity. Credit: ICRC. Malnutrition admissions at 10 health facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in north-eastern Nigeria rose 18 per cent in the first nine months of 2026. The facilities recorded nearly 20,000 admissions between January and September, up from about 17,000 in the same period of 2025, the ICRC said in a statement on Thursday.
The figures cover six health centres and four hospitals. Young children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers were among those most affected. Mubi in Adamawa State saw the sharpest rise, from about 4,600 admissions in the first nine months of 2025 to approximately 5,700 this year, an increase of nearly 24 per cent. The latest numbers follow earlier ICRC warnings about rising demand for nutritional treatment in conflict-affected areas.
In October 2024, the organisation reported a 24 per cent increase in severe acute malnutrition admissions between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024, from 6,824 to 8,470. Admissions of children under five with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications also rose from 1,212 to 1,691 in the same period. These figures cover different reporting periods and patient categories and cannot establish a continuous three-year trend.
At the Mubi Stabilisation Centre, Zulaihatu Mohammed brought her six-month-old daughter, Huseina, one of her twins, for nutritional support. “When I gave birth to them, this one was tiny,” she told the ICRC. “I came today for the routine collection of children’s food. She is not feeling well. Since I gave birth to her, she has been unwell.” Armed violence, climate shocks and economic pressures have disrupted livelihoods and limited access to food.
According to the ICRC’s video report, farmer Saminu Ijaduwa cultivates a small plot near his