Safeguarding dignity health of pregnant teenagers in IDP camps raquo; The Guardian Nigeria

ngrguardiannews.comTHE Makohi camp in Yola, Adamawa State in northeastern Nigeria is home to the 275 women and children who were recently rescued from the Sambisa forest – the strongholds of the insurgency group, Boko Haram. Ms. nigeriasite.com Ratidzai Ndhlovu, the Representative to UNFPA in Nigeria said: "We respond to their physical needs by providing dignity and reproductive Health kits. We also support the medical costs of pregnant women; the social, emotional and intellectual needs are addressed by a combination of PSS activities such as, groups and individual counselling, psycho-education, psychiatric referral and the provision of culturally appropriate dresses to all the women and girls to replace the torn and shabby dresses they wore for months throughout their captivity. But despite the successes announced by the Nigerian military in the fight against insurgency in the North East, the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has continued to rise in the various camps set up in Borno and Adamawa States, officials have said. Similarly, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has kicked against calls from some quarters that mass abortion be performed for the pregnant women recently rescued from the Boko Haram captivity. CBCN called on the federal government to put in place a mechanism to take care of the women and the children as soon as they are born. He said, "How can we accept to visit with capital punishment (death sentence by abortion) on young Nigerians simply because their fathers were misguided religious and ideological bigots? It is not tenable the suggestion that killing the babies conceived through rape by terrorists is the most humane action to take in this instance. The Catholic Bishops on behalf of the babies urge the mothers to show maternal love for the Nigerian children they now bear." Head, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria and former Commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission, Emmanuel Onwubiko called for special funds to take care of the hundreds of women, girls and children dehumanized by the insurgents. He told The Guardian: "These girls whose dignity has been wantonly abused and desecrated by these murderous terrorists deserve our national apology and indeed should and must be resettled and rehabilitated and also actively supported by the Nigerian State to  Check out www.yohaig.ng regain their humanity, sacred and constitutional dignity so recklessly abused and violated. These girls must be placed under special care in far away communities and possibly resettled in a third country in Europe to begin meticulous periods of rebuilding and regaining of their essence as human persons. U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle stressed: "With this new funding, total U.S. humanitarian assistance since the start of the crisis is nearly $44 million. As we look forward to Nigeria’s success, the U.S. remains committed to extending our partnership to support the Nigerian people’s vision to accelerate this country’s economic and social development." The USAID Mission Director, Michael Harvey, sealed the grants with the three UN agencies and the governors of the three states. bbc.co.uk The US govt added: "Current and forthcoming activities will improve governmental capacity and performance; strengthen food security and water policy.It will also expand the reach and effectiveness of health and education initiatives, and provide services for internally displaced persons in North-East Nigeria. USAID efforts in the North-East are focused in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe States."