Over 200 new births were registered in a single month in the Ortese Internally Displaced Persons camp in the Guma Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue state.
This was among the conclusions of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Humanitarian Health Response (HHR) Outreach programme and the Integrated Supportive Supervision (ISS) programme of the United Nations Children's Fund.
The programme was implemented by the Benue State Primary Healthcare Board and was carried out at the Ichwa and Ortese IDP camps in Makurdi and Guma Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The Benue State Primary Health Care Board's Executive Secretary, Mrs. Grace Wende, discussed the situation and stated that the government would need to take action because the number was relatively large.
The results according to Mrs Grace shows how vulnerable the women there are.
Some of the women in the camps are remarrying as their husbands are not there; their husbands are also getting new spouses .
Additionally, they seem to be negotiating for sex with the camp's female residents. These are the kinds of issues that call for intensified advocacy and decision-making inside the camps.
“I have already talked with the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the Camp Coordinators to see how we can go about it. We will target the advocacy on the men for now.” she said.
