Global aid cuts threaten Nigeria, other nations with food shortages – SCI
Story by Susan Mbamah
Save the Children International (SCI) has warned that Nigeria, along with Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan, could run out of emergency food supplies within the next three months due to recent aid cuts. The organization is concerned that if this shortage is not addressed, severely malnourished children could face a higher risk of death.
The emergency food in question is Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). SCI explained that RUTF is a nutrient-rich paste made from peanuts, sugar, milk powder, oil, vitamins, and minerals. It comes in foil pouches, has a long shelf life, and doesn’t need to be refrigerated.
For the last 30 years, this therapeutic food has saved the lives of millions of children with acute malnutrition. The organization noted that a severely undernourished child is nine times more likely to die from common infections than a healthy one.
According to a statement released on Monday, a decline in global nutrition funding could cut off treatment for 15.6 million people across 18 countries, including more than 2.3 million severely malnourished children in 2025. This situation is expected to get worse in 2026.
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An estimated 3.5 million children under five who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition are at risk of death without timely treatment. The statement highlighted that northeastern and northwestern Nigeria are the most affected regions.
The country needs at least 629,000 cartons of RUTF to treat severely wasted children during the June-November lean season, but only 64% of that amount has been secured so far.
Save the Children stated that its ongoing malnutrition programs require at least 3,000 cartons of RUTF every month. However, significant funding cuts in 2025 have intensified the need and limited access to this life-saving support.
Yvonne Arunga, Save the Children’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said, “Imagine being a parent with a severely malnourished child. Now imagine that the only thing that could help your child bounce back from the brink of death is therapeutic food, and that food is out of stock when it was once available.”
“Hunger knows no borders and no limits, and is a force that drains a child’s energy and silences their play and their dreams.
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At a time when global hunger is skyrocketing, the funding that could save children’s lives has been cut because of recent aid cuts, leading to a global shortage of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food,” Arunga continued.
The organisation, which has been providing nutritional support to children for over a century, warned that this vital support is now at risk. Save the Children is urging the international community to ensure that severely malnourished children get the urgent help they need by increasing flexible funding and strengthening national and global supply chains.
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