Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, has raised an urgent alarm over the worsening health and humanitarian crisis in Zamfara State, warning that the rainy season – typically lasting from May to September – is driving deadly outbreaks of malaria, cholera, typhoid fever and acute malnutrition across vulnerable communities in northwestern Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Monday, May 25, 2026, MSF described the annual rains as a “season of death” for many families already displaced and impoverished by years of armed banditry, violence and economic hardship. The organisation noted that flooding, stagnant water, poor sanitation and overcrowded living conditions are increasing the spread of infectious diseases, while worsening food shortages and limited access to healthcare continue to expose thousands of residents to preventable deaths.
“The rainy season affects the way we see patients. It increases the risks and transmission of many diseases, like malaria, cholera and other acute watery diarrheal diseases,” said Sani Adamu, Nursing Activity Manager at an MSF hospital in Zamfara. He explained that stagnant floodwater creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes, causing malaria cases to surge, while contaminated water sources contribute to outbreaks of cholera, typhoid fever and other waterborne illnesses. “In places where sanitation is poor and water sources are unsafe, any contamination can spread quickly,” Adamu said. “Flooding washes waste, garbage and faecal matter into water sources, spreading water-borne diseases. Children play in this water, households use it, and people fall sick.”
The scale of the crisis is staggering. MSF disclosed that in 2025 alone, its teams treated 136,778 malaria patients and 13,877 cholera cases in Zamfara State. The organisation also highlighted the growing burden of typhoid-related complications, especially among children. It cited the case of Auwalu Biliya, a child from Shinkafi Local Government Area, who developed severe typhoid complications after consuming contaminated food and water. His grandmother, Rakiya Usman, told MSF that the family initially sought care locally but was told his intestines had been damaged. Auwalu was later referred to an MSF-supported General Hospital in Zurmi for emergency surgery after suffering intestinal perforation – a severe complication that can be fatal if untreated.
“When treatment is delayed, the intestine can perforate, a severe condition where the intestine ruptures. At that stage, complications can be fatal, and surgery is the only option,” Adamu warned. “Early treatment is crucial.”
Beyond disease outbreaks, MSF warned that the rainy season coincides with the annual lean season – the period when food supplies are depleted and new harvests are still months away. This convergence of hunger and disease creates a deadly cycle in which malnutrition weakens immune systems, making children and pregnant women especially vulnerable to infections that would otherwise be treatable. In 2025, MSF treated 60,566 malnourished children in Zamfara alone. Across its entire operations in Nigeria, the organisation treated more than 440,000 children for malnutrition in 2025 – the highest number of admissions recorded in recent years.
In northwestern Nigeria, particularly in Zamfara, the organisation noted, “the rainy season brings more than relief from the heat. It brings distress, disease, and preventable deaths. For communities already affected by years of armed violence, displacement, and poverty, daily survival between May and September becomes an overwhelming struggle as flooding, outbreaks of infectious diseases, and worsening food insecurity come together.”
The impact on families has been devastating. A displaced mother identified only as Saratu described the hardship faced by many families seeking medical care. “We live close to the river and sleep in the bush. We don’t have mosquito nets,” she told MSF. “During the rainy season, a lot of children get malaria. One child recovers, and another falls sick. Sometimes three of your children are ill at the same time, and you don’t know what to do.”
Access to healthcare remains a critical barrier. MSF expressed concern that insecurity, flooded roads, damaged bridges and the high cost of transportation are preventing residents from reaching timely treatment. Many families are forced to travel long distances across dangerous terrain, often arriving at health facilities when their conditions have already become critical or untreatable. The organisation currently operates or supports four healthcare facilities across northern Nigeria to manage seasonal disease outbreaks and malnutrition cases.
The 2025 figures represent a national crisis. Across Nigeria, MSF treated 353,989 children for severe acute malnutrition through outpatient programmes, while 90,723 children with complications were admitted into inpatient stabilisation centres in 2025 alone. The organisation also treated 341,239 malaria patients, 38,753 children for measles, 6,123 people for diphtheria, and 985 meningitis patients nationally. In maternal health, MSF assisted 33,590 deliveries, conducted 119,469 antenatal consultations, and carried out 224 fistula surgeries – underscoring the strain on women in rural and conflict-affected communities.
MSF Country Representative for Nigeria, Dr Ahmed Aldikhari, described the figures as alarming. “The 2025 data tells a harrowing story. With over 440,000 children put on treatment, it is the year with highest admissions for malnutrition we’ve had in Nigeria in recent years,” he said. He noted that malnutrition remained both a cause and consequence of diseases such as measles, malaria and diphtheria, particularly in vulnerable communities where healthcare is delayed or inaccessible.
The report blamed a combination of factors: conflict, insecurity, displacement, inflation, flooding, drought, rising food prices and humanitarian funding cuts for worsening access to food and healthcare. “Many of these illnesses are preventable,” Aldikhari stressed, calling for stronger vaccination coverage, improved water and sanitation systems, disease surveillance, and timely treatment.
MSF has called for urgent preventive measures, including improved access to clean water and sanitation, stronger vaccination campaigns, and better‑equipped healthcare facilities to reduce illness and preventable deaths. Sani Adamu, the nursing activity manager in MSF’s Shinkafi project, urged proactive action. “Preventive action before and during the rainy season is critical. Strengthening community awareness, improving access to safe water and sanitation, and ensuring timely vaccination campaigns can reduce the impact of diseases. Health facilities must also be properly equipped and supported to diagnose and treat patients quickly and effectively.”
MSF’s warning comes amid a broader national health emergency. Malnutrition in Nigeria remains one of the highest in the world, particularly in conflict-affected and underserved northern states. Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly warned that insecurity, economic hardship, displacement, flooding and weak healthcare systems are worsening access to nutrition and medical services for millions of vulnerable residents.
In Zamfara, where insecurity has ravaged rural communities and displaced thousands of farmers and traders, food production has collapsed, exacerbating the cycle of malnutrition and disease. As the rainy season intensifies, MSF has reaffirmed its commitment to scaling up emergency responses across northern Nigeria. However, as the organisation noted, most deaths are preventable. The question now is whether the government and international donors will act swiftly enough to stem a crisis that, without intervention, threatens to claim thousands of lives before the end of the rainy season.
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