Malnutrition among children under five remains one of Nigeria’s most urgent public health crises. Recent data shows that around 11 million young children—roughly one in every three—are living in conditions of extreme food deprivation. This severe food poverty among other factors such as maternal mortality significantly raises their risk of wasting, a life-threatening form of  malnutrition that stunts growth and weakens immunity. However, community management of acute malnutrition is a proven approach to end infant and child malnutrition.

We are thrilled to share the survival story of a triplet – Adifa, Aliyah and Aminat – whose mother passed away three days after they were born. These babies were healthy at birth but due to the demise of their mother they were  not breastfed – a practice that could have provided all the nourishment their body needed up to six months while protecting them against common childhood infections.

Although their grandmother catered to their needs and was responsible for feeding them, she struggled to provide adequate diets. As a result, the children were not growing as they should. This concern was observed at the health center, from where they were referred to the Lagos Food Bank’s NUMEPLAN program. Upon careful assessment, our nutritionists confirmed that the children were not growing well, looking  very small for their age with other indicators of severe malnutrition such as weak cry and low vitality, visible ribs, thinness, brittle and discolored hair.

At 8 months, Adifa, Aliyah and Aminat weighed only 2.9 kg, 2.8 kg and 3.5 kg respectively with Mid Upper -Arm  Circumference (MUAC) of 8.5 cm, 8.2 cm and 9.5 cm in that order. They were immediately enrolled into the NUMEPLAN program with follow up visits scheduled for every 2 weeks to ensure that their health and nutritional status were closely monitored. Their grandmother on each visit received nutrition counselling tailored to each of the triplets’ needs, including food demonstration, proper hygiene practices and child-led feeding practices. In addition, the children were given nutritious food items.

Over the weeks the children showed remarkable progress and by the time they were discharged Adifa and Aliyah weighed 6 kg with a MUAC of 12.5 cm while Amina weighed 7 kg having a MUAC of 13.5 cm. This success story illustrates the power of targeted nutrition intervention as the NUMEPLAN program exemplifies the effectiveness of early, community-driven efforts in combating malnutrition and promoting child survival. This is a great opportunity to appreciate our donor for supporting our mission to end the malnutrition in Nigeria.