More than 228,400 children aged 6 to 59 months are suffering or expected to suffer acute malnutrition between March 2025 and February 2026, including 61,500 children suffering severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This marks a 30 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. 

In the current period (March to August 2025), the sub-prefectures of Bamingui, Ndélé, Amdafoc, Birao, and Ouandja-Djallé are classified in IPC AMN Phase 4 (Critical), while the remaining 71 analysed sub-prefectures are in IPC AMN Phase 2 (Alert).

The nutritional situation is expected to deteriorate significantly in the projected period (September 2025 to February 2026), with the four sub-prefectures likely to remain in IPC AMN Phase 4 (Critical), and 44 sub-prefectures expected to shift from Alert (Phase 2) to Serious (Phase 3). 

The main factors driving this deterioration include high levels of disease and illness such as diarrhoea, malaria, and acute respiratory infections. As of April 2025, a measles outbreak has also been recorded in 11 health districts. Furthermore, access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities remains limited across many areas.

• Strengthen the coverage and quality of the integrated management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) to urgently reduce mortality linked to acute malnutrition.
• Strengthen management and screening at the community level by ensuring optimal integration with the Ministry of Health’s community engagement programme.
• In areas classified in IPC AMN Phase 4, ensure the continuum of care between MAM and SAM, and referral between community and institutional levels to prevent further deterioration of the nutritional situation and strengthen early case detection.
• In hard-to-reach areas, consider the use of the simplified/combined product approach for MAM and SAM in line with the new protocol for the treatment of wasting and nutritional oedema.