The tiny babies and toddlers are so thin that their bones can be seen clearly against their skin, as medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that the country is facing 'a catastrophic humanitarian emergency'.

Despite pledges from Nigeria to do more to tackle the food shortages among the internally displaced people (IDPs), the United Nations has said that some 50,000 children could starve to death this year in the northeastern state of Borno alone.

At least 188 people died in the camp in Bama between May 23 and June 22, mainly from diarrhoea and malnutrition, while more than 1,200 graves, many of them for children, have been dug near the camp in the last year, MSF said last week.

Domestic and international aid agencies rely on the military to drive to 45 miles from the state capital Maiduguri to Bama, which was liberated in March.

The seven-year Boko Haram insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.6million, with a new influx heaping pressure on local authorities.

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