On Thursday, August 7, 2025, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in Kano, Mr. Rahma Farah, revealed that 51.9% of children in Kano State are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, meaning one in every two children suffers from impaired growth and development, as stated during the handover of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in Takai Local Government Area, per the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Represented by Dr. Serekeberehan Deres, Farah also noted that over 10% of children in the state are wasted, a severe condition increasing mortality risk if untreated, with 1.7 million children under five affected by wasting nationwide, per 2024 UNICEF data. The RUTF, procured through a joint government-UNICEF Child Nutrition Match Fund, aims to treat severe acute malnutrition, with Kano receiving 12,000 cartons in 2025, capable of treating 12,000 children.
Farah urged increased investment in nutrition interventions, particularly in the first 1,000 days of life, calling for collaboration among government, civil society, and traditional leaders to improve access to nutrition services, clean water, and healthcare. Kano State Health Commissioner Dr. Abubakar Labaran reaffirmed the state’s commitment, citing programs like the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week, which reached 2.3 million children with vitamin A supplements in 2024, per the Kano State Ministry of Health. However, malnutrition contributes to 45% of under-five deaths in Nigeria’s North-West, with Kano’s 44 LGAs reporting 1.2 million stunted children, per a 2023 NDHS survey. X posts from @UNICEFNigeria (August 7, 2025) emphasized the crisis, while @KanoHealthNG praised the RUTF initiative but faced criticism from @Naija_Activist for slow progress in addressing systemic issues like poverty and food insecurity, with 38.9% of Nigerians below the poverty line (NBS, 2024).
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