SOMALIA: Malnutrition Crisis in Baidoa First-person testimony Dr Asma Aweis

“We haven’t had enough time between one disaster and another.” Dr Asma Aweis Abdallah is the medical activity manager with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Baidoa, Somalia. Here she describes the situation the team is responding to. The situation in Somalia is very dire – catastrophic. We are facing one of the worst … Read more

Catastrophic malnutrition crisis in northwest Nigeria must be recognized

Abuja (27 September 2022): As the malnutrition crisis in northwest Nigeria continues at catastrophic levels, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for the humanitarian community to respond to the emergency needs of people in the region, and for northwest Nigeria to be included in the UN’s humanitarian response plan, enabling a broader and more sustained … Read more

Out of sight: neglected malnutrition crisis threatens tens of thousands of children in northwest Nigeria

A growing, yet largely ignored, malnutrition crisis is unfolding in northwest Nigeria, which threatens the lives of tens of thousands of children, the medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières /Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned today. Since January, MSF teams, working in partnership with Nigerian health authorities in five northwestern states, have already treated more than … Read more

Thousands at severe risk due to malnutrition and deadly diseases in Twic County

Sami Al-Subaihi is MSF’s emergency project coordinator in South Sudan. He shares his urgent concerns for more than 20,000 people who fled violent clashes and are now living in displacement camps. The lack of food and proper shelter, dismal water and sanitation conditions and impending rainy season, all spell disaster for the coming months. I hear from … Read more

MSF raises alert over alarming indications of large-scale nutritional crisis in Ethiopia’s Afar region

The medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is witnessing alarming indications of a deadly and escalating nutritional crisis in Ethiopia’s Afar region, requiring an urgent scale-up of the humanitarian response. In Afar, hundreds of thousands of people have fled from recent conflict only to find themselves grappling alongside host communities with drought, hunger and … Read more

Malnutrition remains high as drought continues in Kenya

In Northeast Kenya, an ongoing drought is raging on following three consecutive seasons of failed rains, making an already dire food insecurity situation worse. Marsabit County is now reporting high or above-usual rates of acute malnutrition. If medical and humanitarian assistance provided by the national and county governments does not improve, the crisis may continue to September … Read more

Afghanistan: Measles poses deadly risk for malnourished children in Afghanistan

Zainab didn’t sleep well last night. The lights and the incessant beeping of the machines in the intensive care unit would keep anyone awake. But mainly she couldn’t sleep because she was worried about her one-year-old son, Takberullah. He also had a restless, irritable night as he was having trouble breathing until the doctor gave … Read more

Inside Afghanistan’s child malnutrition crisis

Dr Mohammed* works for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at Boost Hospital in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, where 400 severely malnourished children under five years of age are treated every month. Many of them are also suffering from worrying complications such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, or gastrointestinal problems. In the intensive therapeutic feeding centre, MSF teams focus on treating … Read more

Food assistance urgently needed as nutrition crisis grips southern Madagascar

People in southern Madagascar are experiencing an exceptionally acute food and nutrition crisis that is leaving thousands of children severely ill and pushing entire families into extreme poverty. Since March 2021, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) emergency teams have been setting up more and more mobile clinics to deliver humanitarian and medical assistance in several districts across the region. They … Read more

Food and nutrition crisis in Madagascar

Since the end of March, MSF teams have been responding to one of the worst food and nutrition crises ever experienced in southern Madagascar. Prior to deploying medical personnel, an exploratory team was sent to Amboasary district to conduct logistical and health assessments – actions essential to the rollout of an effective humanitarian response. One … Read more