30th anniversary: SGF lauds MSF on role against disease outbreaks, malnutrition, others

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has commended the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for it significant role in communities affected by conflict, displacement, disease outbreaks, malnutrition and other humanitarian emergencies.

The SGF, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office, Dr Aishetu Gogo Ndayako Mohammed, noted this on Wednesday in Abuja at the 30th anniversary of MSF’s operations in Nigeria.

She said MSF’s experience in emergency response, maternal and child healthcare, nutrition and disease control offered valuable lessons for strengthening Nigeria’s health system.

Mohammed, said the anniversary reflected three decades of “compassion, humanity, solidarity and service to people in need.”

Also, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, represented by Director of Internal Cooperation, Dr. Sampson Ebimaro, said MSF treated more than 444,000 children for malnutrition in 2025.

Ebimaro said MSF also treated over 353,000 through outpatient feeding programmes and more than 90,000 in stabilisation centres.

Also, the Country Representative of MSF, Dr Aldikhari Ahmed, said malnutrition has become one of the most pressing health emergencies facing children, especially across northern Nigeria.

“In 2025 alone, MSF treated 425,634 children for acute malnutrition. Behind every one of those numbers is a child, a name, a mother who carried her child for hours to reach us.

“Treatment is essential it is why we exist but treatment alone cannot resolve a crisis of this scale. We cannot treat our way out of it. We must also prevent it.

“Malnutrition, disease, and displacement are not separate crises. A child weakened by malnutrition falls easier to disease, and conflict cuts families off from food and healthcare.

“Our responses must recognise these overlaps. Malaria, cholera, diphtheria, measles, and neglected diseases like noma remain major concerns across Nigeria today.

“None of this can be solved by any one organisation alone. It calls for the sustained, collaborative effort of everyone in this room and this anniversary is our moment to commit to it.

“MSF’s founding principle remains simple: people should receive medical care based on their needs alone, regardless of nationality, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, or status.

“Thirty years on, that principle still guides every one of our teams in Nigeria,” he said.