Insurgent In North East: 276, 000 Women May Be Pregnant This Year-Oshotimehin

The United Nations Population Fund Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Oshotimehin has disclosed that there are clear indications 276, 000 women in IDPs may be pregrant this year.

Oshotimehin who called for urgent protection of their reproductive health and rights, said nearly 53 out of all people internally displaced across the most affected states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are women and girls—and 1.73 million of them are of child bearing age..

“Our aim is to redouble efforts to ensure that their rights to access health care is protected and the Government have all the support they need to overcome overwhelming challenges” Dr Oshotimehin said.

Oshotimehin and women affairs minister Aisha Alhassan undertook a joint mission to the north east to advocate for the reproductive health and rights of women and girls, and to closely align UNFPA support with domestic programmes and priorities.

The Fund raised concern amidst statistics that one Nigerian woman could die every 10 minutes from pregnancy-related conditions, insisting the deaths could be prevented if women and girls have access to education and reproductive health services, including family planning.

Risk of death is heightened in humanitarian crises that displace populations and undermine community social support mechanisms, limiting access to health facilities and workers to take care of women’s and girls’ special needs, said the Fund.

It said it remained committed to “full realisation of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all women and girls in all conditions, crises or otherwise, at all times.”

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, thanked UNFPA for its humanitarian assistance and committed to protecting the rights of women and girls and their access to educations and reproductive health care