The European Union (EU) has allocated €500,000 (approximately ₦900 million) in humanitarian aid to support emergency nutrition interventions for children and mothers suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Northern Nigeria.
According to a statement issued on Friday, the funding will enable the Nigeria Red Cross Society to provide lifesaving assistance to around 170,000 vulnerable households across nine northern states—Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.
The EU explained that the intervention will focus on treating over 30,000 children in critical need. The programme will integrate community outreach and malnutrition screening with outpatient care using ready-to-use therapeutic food, while severe cases will be referred to specialised health centres in line with national health protocols.
In addition to emergency nutrition, the Red Cross will expand its health, water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection services. The initiative is designed not only to save lives but also to strengthen the long-term resilience of affected families.
The funding forms part of the EU’s broader support to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) through its Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF), which facilitates rapid response to small- and medium-scale emergencies.
The EU statement highlighted the scale of the nutrition crisis, particularly in the Northeast (Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe) and Northwest (Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara), where an estimated 5.44 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. Of this number, over two million are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition requiring urgent treatment during the peak lean season between June and September 2025.
The worsening crisis, the EU noted, is driven by ongoing conflict, insecurity, displacement, loss of livelihoods, limited healthcare access, climate shocks such as flooding, and poor maternal and child feeding practices.
“The EU and its Member States remain the world’s largest donor of humanitarian aid,” the statement read. “Our assistance reflects European solidarity with those in need, aimed at saving lives, alleviating suffering, and preserving the dignity of populations affected by both natural and man-made disasters.”
The EU’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, with headquarters in Brussels and a network of global field offices, support millions of disaster and conflict-affected individuals annually.
As part of its broader humanitarian commitment, the European Commission has also signed a €12 million delegation agreement with the IFRC to replenish the DREF for eligible emergency operations around the world.
