Humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned that worsening funding cuts are placing Nigeria’s already strained healthcare system under even greater pressure as malnutrition, disease outbreaks and maternal health crisis emergencies continue rising across vulnerable communities.

The warning was contained in MSF’s 2025 Country Activity Report released on Wednesday, where the organisation described the country’s humanitarian situation as increasingly difficult amid inflation, insecurity, displacement and weakening access to healthcare.

One of the strongest concerns raised in the report was the growing malnutrition crisis affecting children, particularly in northern Nigeria.

According to MSF, more than 440,000 children were treated for malnutrition in 2025, making it the organisation’s highest recorded malnutrition admission figure in Nigeria in recent years.

The report showed that 353,989 children suffering severe acute malnutrition received treatment through outpatient programmes, while another 90,723 children with acute malnutrition and medical complications were admitted into stabilisation centres for emergency care.

MSF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ahmed Aldikhari, said worsening living conditions and declining humanitarian support were making the crisis harder to manage.

“The 2025 data tells a harrowing story: with over 440,000 children put on treatment, it is the year with the highest admissions for malnutrition we’ve had in Nigeria in recent years,” Aldikhari said.

He added that conflict, insecurity, displacement, inflation, flooding, drought and rising food prices were all affecting families’ ability to access food and healthcare.

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“Humanitarian funding cuts are also increasing pressure on already overstretched services in high-need areas,” he stated.

The development comes at a time when humanitarian agencies are already raising concerns about shrinking international aid budgets and widening funding gaps affecting emergency operations across Nigeria, especially in conflict-affected parts of the North-East.

Over the years, aid organisations and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have repeatedly warned that reduced humanitarian funding could affect nutrition support, vaccination programmes, emergency healthcare, water supply and sanitation services in states such as Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

Aid groups have also linked the pressure partly to donor fatigue and competing global humanitarian crises that are stretching international funding resources across multiple regions.

MSF, which has operated in Nigeria since 1996, said it currently runs medical projects across Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states, while also expanding operations into Kaduna State. Emergency interventions were also carried out in Adamawa and Niger states during the year.

Beyond malnutrition, the organisation warned that repeated disease outbreaks are further exposing weaknesses in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

According to the report, MSF treated 341,239 malaria patients, 38,753 measles cases, 6,123 diphtheria cases and 985 meningitis patients across its supported facilities in 2025.

Nigeria has in recent years experienced repeated outbreaks of cholera, measles, meningitis and diphtheria, particularly in states struggling with weak immunisation coverage, overcrowding, poor sanitation infrastructure and limited access to healthcare services.

Aldikhari said many of the illnesses affecting vulnerable communities were preventable with stronger public health systems and improved healthcare investment.

“Many of these illnesses are preventable,” he said.

“Strengthening vaccination coverage, water and sanitation systems, disease surveillance, and access to timely treatment remains critical.”

The report also highlighted Nigeria’s continuing maternal healthcare challenges, especially in rural and conflict-affected communities where women still face major barriers to emergency medical care.

According to MSF, the organisation assisted 33,590 deliveries, conducted 119,469 antenatal consultations and carried out 224 fistula surgeries during the year.

The organisation said its teams regularly handled severe complications linked to delayed access to healthcare, including obstructed labour, bleeding, infections and eclampsia.

Aldikhari called for stronger investment in emergency maternal healthcare, referral systems and primary healthcare infrastructure.

“Timely access to emergency obstetric and newborn care can save lives,” he said.

“There is an urgent need for stronger investment in primary healthcare, referral systems, staffing, equipment and emergency maternal services, especially in underserved areas.”

Nigeria continues to record one of the world’s highest maternal mortality burdens, with health experts frequently linking preventable deaths to poverty, weak healthcare infrastructure, shortage of skilled birth attendants and underfunded medical facilities.

Meiza Nigeria