More than 1.3 million children under the age of five in Nigeria and Ethiopia risk losing access to lifesaving nutrition support this year due to funding shortages, UNICEF has warned. The United Nations children’s agency said it will run out of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment for severe acute malnutrition, within the next two months if new funding is not secured.
UNICEF’s deputy executive director, Kitty Van der Heijden, spoke on Friday via video link from Abuja, raising alarm over the growing crisis. She warned that by May, at least 70,000 malnourished children in Ethiopia who rely on RUTF may no longer receive treatment. In Nigeria, UNICEF projects that supplies for treating 80,000 children could run out even sooner, by the end of this month. She described visiting a hospital in Maiduguri, where a malnourished child’s condition was so severe that their skin was peeling off.
The funding shortfall has been worsened by a global decline in donor contributions to UN agencies, including UNICEF. The situation has become even more dire following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose a 90-day pause on all U.S. foreign aid, starting from his return to the White House in January. The suspension has affected programs run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), disrupting humanitarian efforts worldwide.
“This funding crisis will become a child survival crisis,” Van der Heijden warned, emphasizing that the sudden halt in funding has left little time to find alternative solutions.
Beyond nutrition programs, the cuts have also affected healthcare services in Ethiopia, particularly for pregnant women and children. According to UNICEF, 23 mobile health clinics in the Afar region have been shut down due to a lack of funding, leaving only seven still operational.
The looming aid crisis threatens the lives of vulnerable children, with experts warning that any interruption in malnutrition treatment could have fatal consequences. UNICEF is urging international donors to step in quickly to prevent a worsening humanitarian disaster.
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