Emergency interventions for women and children with severe acute malnutrition will be supported by the package.
The funding will be implemented through the Nigeria Red Cross Society, which is anticipated to reach around 170,000 homes in the states of Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara, according to a statement released by the EU on Friday. “The European Union is allocating €500,000 (more than N900 million) in humanitarian aid to provide emergency assistance to children and mothers suffering from severe acute malnutrition in response to the alarming levels of malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria.”
The Nigeria Red Cross Society would be able to help almost 170,000 households in the northern states of Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara with this financing, the EU said in the statement.
Community outreach, screening, and outpatient care for children with simple severe acute malnutrition are important elements of the intervention.
According to national health rules, the most serious patients will be sent to medical facilities for specialized care. The program would increase the Red Cross’s current health and nutrition services while providing “over 30.000 children in urgent need of treatment” with life-saving therapeutic food.
Along with providing urgent food assistance, the initiative seeks to enhance impacted families’ long-term resilience by improving their access to water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection services. Through the Disaster Response Emergency Fund, which allocates funds to quickly address crises that do not necessitate extensive international appeals, the European Union provides the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies with expanded support. An estimated 5.44 million children under five in Nigeria’s northeast (Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States) and northwest (Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara States) suffer from severe malnutrition. “During the peak of the lean season from June to September 2025, two million are projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition requiring lifesaving treatment,” the statement continued.
The region’s prolonged violence, insecurity, and displacement are blamed for the deteriorating nutrition problem, which is further exacerbated by climate shocks like flooding, financial strains, and restricted access to healthcare.
The high rates of malnutrition are partly a result of inadequate feeding habits for mothers and children. The money demonstrates the Union’s commitment to addressing humanitarian needs in Nigeria and globally, according to the European Commission’s humanitarian aid directorate, which oversees the EU’s worldwide disaster response efforts.
