Rescued captives plagued with ulcer, malnutrition, eye defect

dimeji akinloye

May 8, 2015 11:31 PM

One of the women, Iyagana Mallum, who was rescued with her four children said kids mostly suffered from the eye problems.

It has emerged that 300 out of the rescued women and girls from Sambisa Forest, where they were been held captive by Boko Haram terrorists are suffering from stomach ulcer, malnutrition, eye problems and diarrhoea.

According to The Cable, who visited the Internally-Displaced Persons (IDP) in Yola, Adamawa State, where the freed captives are being rehabilitated, a high number of the women and girls have sight deficiency.

They told the news medium that their eye defect is as a result of the harsh conditions they were in while in captivity.

One of the women, Iyagana Mallum, who was rescued with her four children said kids mostly suffered from the eye problems, noting that they have been receiving treatment from the team of health workers provided by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA).

She said three of the children have already recovered from the eye problems.

A nurse at the camp clinic identified as Zainab Jangawe said the people’s condition was worse when they arrived the camp.

“When they were brought in, – and they were more than 50 – virtually all of them came in with eye problems due to the heat and the dust in the forest. Most of them could not even look at you when they came in; they were covering their eyes and faces. Their faces that had to be washed that night with normal saline. But now, the number of those with this condition has reduced drastically,” She told the news medium.

Jangawe also said some them were malnourished, which necessitated the clinic to place them on special recovery diet, which included golden morn, milk, and multivitamins.

She said many of them were also “de-wormed,” with some others placed on quick recovery intravenous fluids.

It was also found that pregnancies of some of the girls are in the second trimester, and they have been registered for ante-natal care.

The nurse however said the number of pregnant girls is not as high as 214 contrary to widespread reports that suggested so.

The executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin, had said that 214 of the girls are pregnant.

Jangawe said the number is below 214, even though most of them hid their pregnancies at first. She added that most of the women and girls also suffer from ulcer.

dimeji akinloye