Strategic Summary

The protracted conflict in the Northeast Nigeria states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) have deepened the humanitarian crisis causing displacements to overcrowded camps and informal settlements, and a sustained high burden of acute malnutrition. In 2023, preparedness became a key action following the slow and sub-optimal response to the 2022 lean season nutrition crisis in the Northeast. Therefore, a nutrition crisis was averted during the 2023 lean season mainly attributed to the early rollout of anticipatory and lean season surge actions.
The 2023 IPC Acute Malnutrition Analysis projects a worsening nutrition situation across the BAY states indicating that the severity of acute malnutrition and number of children and pregnant or breastfeeding women and girls (PBWG) in need of nutrition assistance is expected to remain high through 2024. This is aggravated by increasingly prolonged lean seasons, worsening acute food insecurity, economic crisis, high prevalence of measles and acute watery diarrhoea (AWD), outbreak of diphtheria and flooding. During the lean season, the impact of all the deteriorated drivers of acute malnutrition will be at their peak and the nutrition situation in most of the LGAs will likely be worse than same period of 2023.
A nutrition situation categorized as Serious or worse is anticipated in 14 LGAs including 10 in Borno (Damboa, Gubio, Jere, Kaga, Konduga, Mafa, Magumeri, Maiduguri, Marte, and Monguno) and four in Yobe (Machina,
Nguru, Yunusari and Yusufari). In absence of anticipatory and lean season surge actions outlined in this ERP plan, it is expected that admission in treatment programs will rapidly increase to the point of overwhelming the existing capacities of health facilities supported by partners and government.
The 2024 lean season and Preparedness/ Anticipatory Action were the focus of this ERP plan. The main objective of the ERP plan is to scale up interventions for the treatment of acute malnutrition while strengthening the provision of preventive interventions ahead of the identified disaster risks. The ERP plan also aims to ensure prepositioning of supplies in the field ahead of the lean season while putting in place preparedness and anticipatory actions.