No fewer than 3,213 pregnancies were recorded in Bakassi camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, between June and December this year, Leadership reports.
According to the report, there are 2,234 breastfeeding mothers among the 21,202 IDPs, the camp presently hosts.
This was disclosed yesterday by the camp manager, Mohammed Gujibawu, when a delegation of the United Nations humanitarian agencies, comprising WHO , UNPFA , UNCR , ICRC , UNICEF , FAO, OHRC, UNOCHAR, IOM and representative of the federal government visited the camp to assess the humanitarian situation there.
Gujibawu told the UN agencies that some of the challenges facing the camp are inadequate supply for infants and adults, inadequate school learning materials for the children, lack of potable water, inadequate supply of drugs for underage patients, and absence of ambulance, among others.
He noted that the Bakassi camp started with 4,743 IDPs and grew to the present number following the evacuation of IDPs from school premises when government decided to reopen schools occupied by the displaced persons, in addition to IDPs brought from areas liberated by the military.
“The IDPs are from five local government areas of Borno State which are Guzaumala, Monguno, Nganze, Marte and Gwoza, and their numbers keep increasing as the Nigerian Military continues to conquer Sambisa (Forest) and the remaining strongholds of Boko Haram terrorists in Borno.
“We also have a reasonable number of unaccompanied children separated from their parents, or wives separated from their husbands, who were either killed or abducted by the insurgents,” said the Bakassi IDPs camp manager.
Responding on behalf of the delegation, the head of sub-office of the UN Migration Agency (IOM), Miss Nangila Khakula Emma, said the UN Humanitarian Bodies came from their various headquarters to monitor the humanitarian situation in all the IDPs camps in Borno with a view to helping to address the challenges in them.
She led members of the delegation on an inspection of the clinic and other facilities at the camp and also interacted with the IDPs about their living conditions before departing with the delegation to visit other IDPs camps in the state.
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