UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, welcomes the release of 21 Chibok schoolgirls who were captured by Boko Haram. UNFPA also commends the Government of Nigeria on its commitment towards the liberation of more girls and other survivors who have been abducted and has prepositioned counsellors to provide urgent psychosocial support to the girls and reproductive health care for those who may require it.
The Boko Haram conflict continues to pose a major human security challenge in Nigeria. The conflict, which started in 2009, has predominantly affected the States of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa; destroying health systems, schools and infrastructure. Lives and livelihoods have also been destroyed, with about 1.8million people internally displaced, 7,000 women and girls kidnapped and about 30,000 people dead. In humanitarian crisis such as this, women and children are often the most vulnerable, because they are at risk of sexual and gender-based violence and are unable to access reproductive health care, especially for those who are pregnant, making them prone to losing their lives and babies.
UNFPA, amidst the crisis, provides reproductive health kits that contain live-saving commodities to bridge the gap so affected women and girls continue to have access to sexual and reproductive health services. But beyond their physical health is the trauma they endure and the violence they face when emergencies occur. UNFPA responds by providing psychosocial support and counselling to survivors to begin the process of healing and rehabilitation. Since its intervention in 2014, the Fund has assisted the safe delivery of 87,910 pregnancies in the crisis-affected States and provided psychosocial support to more than 174,118 survivors.
UNFPA calls for and anticipates the release of more abducted girls, boys and women and is ready to continue working with governments and other partners to immediately meet their sexual and reproductive health needs, including psychosocial support and counselling.
