Nigerian children pay the price for the Iran war as malnutrition and poverty surge

SOKOTO, Nigeria (AP) — Maryam Aminu was hardly surprised when the last of her six children was diagnosed with malnutrition in April for a second time. She was barely feeding the 18-month-old regularly, let alone with nutritious foods.

Although the family in northwest Nigeria has struggled with economic hardship, their situation deteriorated after February, when her husband, Shehu Aminu, lost his job as a taxi driver due to a spike in the retail price of petrol caused by the war in Iran.

“When she was diagnosed the second time, even though I suspected it, I was sad and angry because I knew why,” Aminu said in the living area of their unvarnished two-bedroom house in the quiet town of Kware, Sokoto, as ash from the coal stove billowed into the room. “Times are tough, and the food is not consistent.”

Children relapsing into malnutrition has become an increasingly common occurrence in the state and across northern Nigeria, according to local health and aid workers, who cite knock-on effects from the Iran war.

Northern Nigeria, one of the world’s poorest regions, is already under pressure from an insurgency crisis. Now, the conflict in the Middle East has worsened food security for millions of people living in poverty, especially children.

At the same time, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s vast economic reforms sparked high inflation after fuel subsidies were removed three years ago and the currency was devalued. A World Bank technical report this week stated that 139 million Nigerians are now poor or vulnerable to poverty.

If the war in the Middle East continues, up to 23.4 million additional children could fall into monetary poverty — meaning a lack of income or consumption — by the end of the year, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF said in a report this week. It warned that at least 80% would be in Africa and Asia.

“Children are paying the price for the escalating conflict in the Middle East, including children far beyond the region,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The longer this continues, the worse the consequences will be.”

Amid the Iran war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed before the war — sent a ripple effect across the world. A worldwide fuel shock drove up the prices of everything from gas and groceries to fertilizer and airline tickets.

In Nigeria, fuel pump prices jumped from 800 naira ($0.58) per liter in February to 1,400 naira ($1.02) in April, with a knock-on effect on the prices of food and necessities.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been trying to force Iran to fully reopen the route for months, turning to everything from airstrikes and naval blockades to negotiations and threats.

In Sokoto, where the soaring prices have brought more hardship for families, health workers told The Associated Press that they've been seeing more children returned to health facilities this year after falling back into malnutrition.

At a hospital in Sokoto, records shared with AP show nearly 40 children previously treated for malnutrition since February are currently under treatment again, in addition to those not documented.

“I am worried and sometimes angry about the increasing numbers we are seeing,” said health worker Halimah Muhammad.

Beyond current realities, soaring prices and economic hardship mean that children in poor households are more likely to be stunted in the long term, UNICEF's Russell said in an interview with the AP as she was visiting Sokoto this week.

“Their development will be compromised. They are less likely to stay in school because their parents are under so much financial stress. So the long-term implications for children are absolutely terrible,” said Russell.

The war has also affected fertilizer supplies and prices, threatening the planting season and worsening the fate of mostly farming communities in northern Nigeria who have struggled to access their farmlands amid a deadly conflict with armed groups.

“I wake up every morning unhappy, seeing I can no longer provide for my family,” said Shehu, Maryam's husband. “Then, 2,000 naira could buy you a nutritious meal for the whole family. Now, you need 5,000 naira to buy what 2,000 naira would buy.”

Most of their meals are pap, a kind of corn pudding, and rice. “There is no way to feed the children,” he said.

People in northwest Nigeria are caught between regular attacks by bandit groups who specialize in kidnapping for ransom and Islamist militants who have been expanding their territory. The Iran war, analysts say, compounds the impact.

“This distant war offers no relief for the north’s vulnerable,” Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based geopolitical risk advisory, said.

Larai Malami, a 35-year-old mother of 10, gave birth to her last child in December, but the infant has already been diagnosed with malnutrition twice.

Her family has been struggling after her husband lost his job as a motorcycle rider and crossed the border into neighboring Niger to look for work.

Malami worries about the fuel price because it keeps the price of food high and her husband away. “I worry that the child might never be fully well,” she said.

That is a sentiment shared by Aminu, too. “I wish she were excited and full of life,” she said.

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Shehu Aminu, second left, who lost his job as a taxi driver due to a spike in the retail price of petrol in February, sits with his wife Maryam Aminu, their daughter Farisa, left, who has relapsed into malnutrition, and her siblings, at their house in Kware Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Maryam Aminu plays with her daughter Farisa, who has relapsed into malnutrition, at their house in Kware Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Children suffering from acute malnutrition receive treatment via nasal feeding tubes at a hospital in Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Halimah Muhammad, a local health worker, right, attends to a child suffering from malnutrition, as his mother Larai Malami, a 35-year-old mother of 10, holds him at the Rumbukawa Primary Health Centre in Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Farisa, who has relapsed into malnutrition, plays on a mat inside her house in Kware Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia attacked Kyiv overnight with ballistic missiles and other weapons, killing one and wounding 16 people, local authorities said Sunday, again highlighting Ukraine’s shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems.

Moscow has in recent weeks stepped up its use of ballistic missiles as it seeks to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages affecting both the military and the civilian population.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriots, the most effective means of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, potentially bolstering Kyiv’s defenses. However, the details and timeline remain unclear, and full production could take years.

The latest attack on Kyiv began at around 1:30 a.m. and continued for several hours, with explosions echoing across the city.

Russia launched 41 missiles and 125 drones across Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said most of the missiles had targeted the capital.

The strikes on Kyiv sparked fires in five districts, damaging residential buildings, office and industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

Viktoria Shejko, 32, was taking shelter in the corridor of her apartment block with her seven children and husband when they heard the loud explosions.

“When the alarm started, we checked that there were ballistics, then went into the corridor. Then it started exploding one missile after another,” she said.

The strain of constant bombardment is “very difficult psychologically,” she said. “It used to be once a week or even more rarely, but now if not every day, then every other day.”

Rescuers pulled four people from a burning home in the Sviatoshynskyi district, while in the Shevchenkivskyi district, they rushed to save residents from a three-story building on fire. One person was found dead. Firefighters also responded to blazes in the Solomyanskyi, Desnianskyi and Dnipro districts.

Russia's Defense Ministry claimed the attack on Kyiv targeted sites linked to the Ukrainian military — including plants producing Flamingo drones and parts for Neptune guided missiles, as well as a postal terminal used for storing dual-use goods and assembling drones, robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment.

Separately, a strike on two oil tankers at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) ‌terminal off Russia’s Black Sea halted oil loadings at the site, the CPC said Sunday.

The attack on the ASIA and NISSOS tankers in the port of Novorossiysk sparked a fire aboard the ASIA, which was extinguished. The company did not say who was responsible for the attack. It added there were no casualties or oil spills, and the tankers — sailing under the flags of Liberia and the Marshall respectively — remained afloat.

Both Russia and Ukraine have sharply ramped up strikes on ships in the Black and Azov seas over the past week. Ukraine says it targets Russia's so-called shadow fleet, which ships oil in violation of international sanctions over the Kremlin's invasion of its neighbor.

Kyiv has for months been targeting Russia's oil industry, which it says both directly fuels Moscow's war effort and funds it through export revenues, triggering acute fuel shortages in a country that is one of the world's top oil producers.

The CPC is a 940-mile (1,510-kilometer) oil pipeline ​connecting Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea oil ​deposits ⁠with Novorossiysk, where the oil is loaded and shipped by tanker to world markets. The pipeline accounts for about 80% of oil-rich Kazakhstan's crude exports, with the Russian government and Russian state oil firms holding a combined 31% stake in the enterprise.

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that Ukrainian units struck more energy infrastructure in Russian territory.

He said units of Ukraine’s Security Service agency struck three oil depots in the Stavropol region, while a separate army unit of the army hit another fuel-related facility in the same region. Three Russian tankers were also struck in the Black Sea, he said.

Stavropol Gov. Vladimir Vladimirov earlier referenced Ukrainian drone attacks sparking fires at “industrial facilities” in two locations within the region. He did not specify what the facilities were, but said nobody was hurt.

Russian news outlet Astra on Sunday claimed that three oil depots may be burning in Stavropol, based on its analysis of photos and videos sent in by locals after the attack.

Russian air defense systems shot down 140 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian regions, annexed Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas overnight into Sunday, Russia's defense ministry reported. It did not say how many were launched or reached their targets.

In Russia's Kursk region near the Ukrainian border, Ukrainian drones struck four apartment buildings, setting off a fire and injuring one person, according to local Gov. Alexander Khinshtein.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

An owner looks at her damaged car following a Russia missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Activists kneel as they take a moment of silence to honor the fallen soldiers in Russia-Ukraine war during a rally to denounce President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A woman carries a cage with a parrot as she leaves her damaged house following a Russia missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Smoke rises over the city after a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Debris surrounds a missile crater in the foreground of a building following Russia's missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Local residents wander among debris following a Russia missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)