from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – WOMEN and girls are bearing the brunt of the recent humanitarian emergencies driven by conflict and climate-related disasters in northern Nigeria.
In June, mass killings in the north-central Benue state claimed at least 218 lives and displaced nearly 4 800 people.
At the same time, flash floods in the state of Niger, in the same region, destroyed over 265 settlements and led to the deaths of more than 200 people, disrupting access to essential services.
Insecurity in the northeast, including a suicide bombing in the restive Borno state, heightened the risks facing women and girls, who increasingly face gender-based violence, loss of access to health services and psychosocial trauma.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has scaled up its response in affected regions, providing sexual and reproductive health (SRH), gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, and youth-focused services.
In June, over 8 700 individuals received SRH services. Nearly 9 000 accessed protection and GBV support. This includes clinical management of rape, safe shelter, legal aid and psychosocial care.
Targeted interventions in Benue included the establishment of a women and girls’ safe space and temporary health clinic at the IDP camp in Makurdi.
In total, more than 50 000 people were reached with GBV and SRH information and services, while coordination mechanisms were strengthened across Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
UNFPA laments that despite the scale of need, funding remains critically low.
Of the US$15,7 million required to support the agency’s 2025 operations in Nigeria, US$1,7 million — or 11 percent — has been received, leaving an alarming gap.
“Without urgent donor support, life-saving services for women, girls, and young people risk being scaled back or suspended, undermining the humanitarian response at a time of escalating crisis,” said a spokesperson.
Islamist groups like the Boko Haram and kidnap gangs are wreaking havoc in northern Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, 237 million.
– CAJ News