Malnutrition: On The Hunger Roads
Illustrator Camille Quilichini travelled to Niger and northwest Nigeria to document an unfolding malnutrition crisis.
Tens of thousands of children across the region are at risk of severe malnutrition. Poor harvests, rising food costs, outbreaks of malaria and escalating violence have exacerbated the already precarious situation in which many families live.
In June 2022, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) launched an emergency response to tackle the crisis.
Since then, our teams have treated 115,000 children for malnutrition.
MSF and malnutrition
Around 45 percent of all deaths in young children are linked to malnutrition. When children suffer from acute malnutrition, their immune systems are so impaired that the risk of death is greatly increased.
The critical age for malnutrition is from six months – when mothers generally start supplementing breast milk with other foods – to 24 months. However, children under five, adolescents, pregnant or breastfeeding women, the elderly and the chronically ill are also vulnerable.