An estimated 1.6 million children aged 6–59 months will suffer from acute malnutrition in Niger from August 2025–July 2026, including more than 410,000 children expected to face severe acute malnutrition. In addition, over 306,800 pregnant and breastfeeding women are likely to suffer from acute malnutrition during the same period. While the national nutrition situation is expected to generally improve compared to the previous year, it remains particularly concerning for refugee populations.
Malnutrition in Niger is driven by a number of factors, including low food consumption and poor dietary diversity among children, high anemia rates and prevalence of childhood diseases, low coverage of acute malnutrition management programs and health facilities, poor access to safe drinking water, flooding, and civil insecurity.
During the peak malnutrition period from August–November 2025, the entire Diffa Region, Bermo and Tessoua departments in the Maradi Region, and four refugee sites in Agadez, Diffa, and Maradi regions faced IPC Acute Malnutrition (AMN) Phase 4 (Critical) conditions. The nutrition situation is expected to improve during the first projection period of December 2025–April 2026 due to a decrease in cases of diarrhoea and malaria and improved food availability. During this period, 16 areas are expected to shift from Phase 3 to IPC AMN Phase 2 (Alert), and three areas are expected to shift from Phase 4 to Phase 3. Coinciding with the onset of the lean and rainy seasons, the situation will likely progressively worsen during the second projection period from May–July 2026, with 33 areas of analysis in Phase 3 and 10 areas of analysis in Phase 4. The Diffa Region, Say Department, and two refugee sites will likely deteriorate from Phase 3 to Phase 4.