According to reports, a large number of girls rescued from Boko Haram have been found to be pregnant.
This revelation was reportedly made on Sunday, May 3, by the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin.
According to Vanguard, unofficial reports put the number of visibly pregnant girls at 214.
Osotimehin is said to have given the indication while providing updates on the response to the rehabilitation of the rescued women and children, said the organization.
“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,” he said.
“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 added.
“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,” Osotimehin said.
He also stated that the organization in collaboration with the Federal and state governments had undertaken the enormous task of restoring the dignity of the girls, who, he said, are facing severe psychosocial trauma.