Nigeria: Behind Child Suffering from Malnutrition - The Mental Struggle of Caregivers

What the report says

Médecins Sans Frontières says severe child malnutrition remains a major health crisis in northern Nigeria, where its nutrition units in places including Maiduguri in Borno state and Kano are treating children with dangerous weight loss and related infections. The AllAfrica-distributed MSF report describes crowded wards where caregivers stay beside their sick children for days or weeks while nurses provide therapeutic milk, monitoring, and other care.

The article focuses less on the medical cases themselves than on the emotional toll on parents, especially mothers, who are often separated from other children and family responsibilities at home. It quotes caregivers who described fear, sleeplessness, guilt, and anxiety over whether relatives at home have enough food or treatment. In one example, a mother whose daughter was admitted in Maiduguri said her child’s illness left her unable to eat or rest properly. Another caregiver said repeated hospital moves and worry over her children had left her exhausted.

MSF counselor-educators say they try to address that strain through psychosocial support, including counseling, group sessions, help contacting relatives, and occasional supervised home visits. The report says this support is meant to help caregivers stay engaged in treatment and improve recovery for children. MSF also said it treated 425,634 children for acute malnutrition across northern Nigeria in 2025, underscoring the scale of the problem.