Child malnutrition mounts amid conflict in northeast Nigeria

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Aid agencies are warning that acute malnutrition is on the rise in northeast Nigeria. The development comes after a year of poor food production in the country and as humanitarian aid is being diverted to the crisis in Ukraine. The U.N. children’s agency says acute malnutrition has soared from affecting 1.4 million children to 1.7 million over the last year. Northeast Nigeria has suffered under an Islamic insurgency for more than a decade, forcing more than 2 million people from their homes. People living in the displacement camps say the Nigerian government isn’t providing enough food for them. One mother of five says she scavenges for greens in the nearby forest when their stocks run out.