FOLLOWING—THE latest rescue of additional 234 women and children by
the Nigerian Army from the Sambisa Forest in Borno State, indicated, yesterday,
that a sizeable number of the rescued girls were visibly pregnant, even as
unofficial reports put the latest number of pregnant girls in one of the camps
in Borno as at last Saturday at 214.
Giving this indication in Lagos, Executive
Director, UNFPA, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, also disclosed that in the last
one year, the organization had taken deliveries of over 16,000 pregnancies in
the troubled North East part of the country.
Osotimehin, while giving update of
the response to the rehabilitation of the rescued women and children,
said the organization, in anticipation of the magnitude of the problem on hand,
had put in place a formidable team in collaboration with the Federal and state
governments, to first restore the dignity of the girls, who, he said, are
facing severe psychosocial trauma.
This handout picture released by the
Nigerian army on April 30, 2015 and taken this week in an undisclosed location
in the Sambisa Forest, Borno state, purportedly shows a member of the Nigerian
Army standing next to a group of women and children rescued in an operation
against the Islamist group Boko Haram. Boko Haram hostages were held in
atrocious conditions in the group’s Sambisa Forest stronghold, Nigeria’s
military said on April 30 after nearly 500 women and girls were released this
week. AFP PHOTO / NIGERIAN ARMY
On the state of the girls, he
explained that most of them, due to the long period spent in captivity,
required a special set of services that would facilitate their integration into
society.
“What we found is that some of the
women and girls that have come back actually have much more in terms of the
stress they have faced, so the counselling has to be more intense and working
with them one-on-one.
“I’m glad the communities are not
excommunicating them and are taking them back. That is an important therapy
too. We anticipate this is going to escalate because the military intervention
is continuing, we find that more people are now needing our services and we
will continue,” he stated.
Further, he explained that the UNFPA
had earlier collaborated with the Federal and state governments to train 60
counsellors to offer psychosocial services to the affected women and children.
He noted that those trained were people from the communities, who understand
the context and sociology of the people.
“UNFPA is providing dignity for
women. In conflict and disasters, most people would only think of water and
sanitation, provision of tents and housing, and food, which are all important.
But women and girls have specific needs that nobody else looks after; it is
only UNFPA that is doing this. We are giving psychosocial counselling.
“Beyond that, in the growing young
people, we will always have pregnant women, but nobody segregates the needs of
the pregnant women which are very important and different from the needs of the
average community. We look after them, and ensure they get antenatal care and
that they deliver properly and that they even get Caesarean Section when
necessary.
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