Maiduguri, 07 March, 2025 – Fatima Ibrahim (identify modified) was only a little one when her world was torn aside. At age 10, she was kidnapped throughout a violent raid on her village in Bama, Borno State. What adopted was a decade of unimaginable hardship and struggling.
Now 20 and a mom of 1, Fatima is taking the primary steps towards reclaiming her life.
A decade of darkness
Fatima’s years in captivity have been marked by concern, violence, and profound isolation, enduring each psychological and bodily trauma, leaving her scarred. Her eventual launch introduced aid but in addition new struggles. Along with emotional misery, she suffered from a extreme gynaecological situation, manifesting as a foul-smelling discharge and vaginal prolapse—issues that considerably impacted her high quality of life. With medical care and psychosocial help offered by the World Well being Group (WHO) and different humanitarian well being companions, Fatima is steadily discovering hope and therapeutic.
“I misplaced hope many instances,” Fatima recalled. “I believed I’d by no means see my household once more or really feel protected,” she shared with a trembling voice when talking to the WHO-supported Exhausting-to-Attain Cell Well being Crew on the Malkohi Internally Displaced Individuals (IDP) Camp in Adamawa State, the place she had sought refuge.
Referral and the street to therapeutic
Fatima required quick, specialised medical consideration. Recognising the severity of her situation, the WHO well being crew promptly referred her case to the WHO Gender-Primarily based Violence (GBV) focal individual in Yola, initiating a coordinated response amongst companions and organisations to safe her remedy and rehabilitation.
The Worldwide Committee of the Pink Cross (ICRC) coated the prices of Fatima’s medical remedy. On the identical time, the Neems Basis offered important help, together with meals and transportation, guaranteeing she might concentrate on her restoration with out extra burdens. She underwent surgical procedure to deal with her gynaecological issues and acquired steady psychosocial help to help her emotional restoration.
With funding from the European Union Humanitarian Help (ECHO), WHO has performed a vital position in delivering important medical and psychological help to susceptible populations affected by humanitarian crises. These collaborative efforts make sure that survivors of battle and gender-based violence, like Fatima, obtain complete and tailor-made care.
By addressing bodily and psychological well being, WHO and its companions are constructing pathways for survivors to regain their dignity and entry important well being providers in difficult environments.
A lifeline of help
In Adamawa State, WHO—supported by the European Fee (ECHO)—has labored alongside the state authorities to coach and deploy seven groups of hard-to-reach healthcare staff, comprising nurses, neighborhood well being extension staff, and different important cadres. These groups function throughout 17 native authorities areas, delivering very important healthcare and psychosocial providers to susceptible communities.
Isaac Kadala, a well being official in Adamawa State, recommended WHO’s unwavering dedication to equitable healthcare entry, emphasising the organisation’s management in GBV response and psychosocial coaching for frontline well being staff.
“WHO’s interventions, together with joint supportive supervision throughout well being services, have strengthened our capability to offer much-needed providers to affected populations,” he famous, reaffirming the state’s dedication to continued collaboration with WHO and its companions.
Sustaining humanitarian motion
“WHO’s interventions, on this case, and lots of others, align with our Nation Cooperation Technique IV (CCSIV), which prioritises addressing the well being wants of susceptible populations amid humanitarian crises. By offering complete care, we make sure that nobody is left behind in accessing important well being providers,” mentioned Dr Kumshida Yakubu Balami, WHO’s Performing Emergency Supervisor for Northeast Nigeria’s Humanitarian Well being Emergency Response.
Dr Balami emphasised that Fatima’s story serves as a important reminder of the necessity for sustained investments in survivor-centred healthcare and psychosocial help for victims of gender-based violence.
In 2024 alone, WHO’s interventions reached over 161 405 susceptible people in Adamawa State, significantly these residing in IDP camps and distant areas, offering important medical and psychosocial help.
Fatima’s journey illustrates the profound affect of humanitarian well being interventions on conflict-affected populations. Nonetheless, her story additionally underscores an pressing name for continued world and native commitments to supporting survivors of gender-based violence and investing in complete, accessible healthcare providers for probably the most susceptible.