The United Nations (UN) says at least 214 young
women and girls recently rescued from the the camps of the Takfiri Boko Haram
militants in northeastern Nigeria are pregnant.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA)’s executive
director, Babatunde Osotimehin, said Monday that many of these women are
undergoing medical tests and screening for various diseases and infections,
including HIV/AIDS.
"About 214 of those already screened were
discovered to be at various stages of pregnancies, some visibly pregnant and
some just tested pregnant; but we are supporting all of them with various levels
of care to stabilize them," the UN official added.
“Some of the children that were freed along
with the women, it was discovered, were born in the forest and had never been
out in the open until their release by the Nigerian Army,” Osotimehin
said.
Nigeria’s army says it freed almost 7,000 women
from various Boko Haram camps last week.
Army spokesman Chris Olukolade said Monday that
soldiers found an additional 260 women and children, who had escaped from the
terrorists, on the outskirts of Chalawa Village in the northeastern state of
Adamawa.
Most of them come from the nearby town of
Madagali and surrounding communities, he added.
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