{"id":53727,"date":"2025-11-04T16:52:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=53727"},"modified":"2025-11-04T16:52:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T15:52:02","slug":"in-maiduguris-idp-camps-displaced-girls-battle-rising-prostitution-and-unsafe-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/in-maiduguris-idp-camps-displaced-girls-battle-rising-prostitution-and-unsafe-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"In Maiduguri\u2019s IDP Camps, Displaced Girls Battle Rising Prostitution and Unsafe Abortion."},"content":{"rendered":"

A Camp in Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the crowded EYN IDP Camp located at Jerusalem, Wulari area of Maiduguri, Borno State, Northeast Nigeria despair has quietly replaced the hope that once sustained many displaced families. For hundreds of residents, life has become a daily struggle for survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in agony,\u201d says Barka Musa Amuda, the camp\u2019s secretary. \u201cBefore, when the government and humanitarian organizations provided us with support, life was easier. But now, everything has stopped. Everyone is on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explains that even farming a major source of livelihood for many IDPs has failed to meet expectations this year. \u201cA lot of farmers took loans to improve their farming activities, but now they can\u2019t refund them. It has made things worse,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Nigeria Situation Report for January 2025, nearly 8 million people in Nigeria are in need of humanitarian assistance including 1.95 million women of reproductive age in conflict-affected regions. These harsh conditions continue to heighten vulnerability to unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions among women and girls displaced by the crisis.<\/p>\n

The Harsh Reality for Young Girls<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the hardship deepens, young girls have found themselves paying the highest price. Many have been pushed into prostitution as a means of survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents can no longer cater for their children\u2019s needs,\u201d Barka says. \u201cMany girls have turned to prostitution just to feed their families. Some don\u2019t even sleep in the camp anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the camp leadership, the situation is becoming harder to manage. \u201cWe sat as leaders to discuss what can be done to stop this,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut how can we draw the line when these girls have no other means of livelihood? We, their parents, are struggling too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of these girls are not without education. \u201cSome have completed secondary school, others have diplomas, and a few even hold degrees \u00a0but none have stable jobs,\u201d Barka says. \u201cThat is what\u2019s driving this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unwanted Pregnancies and Unsafe Abortions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The situation has also led to an alarming rise in unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions among the young women in the camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have personally seen about fifteen girls who have given birth or had abortions,\u201d Barka reveals. \u201cWe gather both the girls and their parents separately and advise them on the dangers of what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite their efforts, the camp leaders feel helpless. \u201cWe want the government to intervene and provide these girls with skill acquisition training,\u201d he pleads. \u201cBefore, we never saw this happening in our camp, but now it\u2019s everywhere. They can\u2019t just sit and watch themselves and their families starve.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Guttmacher Institute factsheet notes that around 6.8 million pregnancies occur in the country every year in Nigeria, with about 10 percent mistimed or unwanted, and 11 percent ending in induced abortion. For many displaced women and girls, the lack of healthcare and livelihood opportunities makes safe reproductive choices almost impossible.<\/p>\n

Mothers\u2019 Pain and Struggle<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Saratu Dauda, a mother in the same camp, the situation has become unbearable.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur children no longer go to school; they just stay at home,\u201d she says. \u201cEven when we go to the forest to search for food, we come back with nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shares how the lack of basic needs has forced many young girls into dangerous paths. \u201cSome girls can\u2019t even afford sanitary pads or clothes,\u201d she says softly. \u201cThey follow men to get what they need. For the girls, it\u2019s prostitution; for the boys, it\u2019s stealing. We really need help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stakeholders Raise Alarm<\/strong><\/p>\n

The growing desperation in IDP camps recently drew attention at a two-day stakeholders\u2019 dialogue held on November 1st and 2nd, 2025, in Maiduguri. The event was organized by the Grassroots Researchers Association (GRA) with support from We Are Not Weapons of War (WWoW).<\/p>\n

The dialogue brought together Borno traditional rulers, lawyers, government officials, and over 500 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence to discuss the rising cases of child pregnancy and unsafe abortions in IDP camps.<\/p>\n

Participants expressed grave concern over how minors and young girls, trapped by hunger and lack of opportunities, are quietly engaging in survival sex and unsafe abortions.<\/p>\n

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A September 2025 report by the Independent Newspaper Nigeria reveals that unsafe abortions account for about 10\u201314 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths in the country, a tragic reflection of how desperation and lack of access to healthcare continue to cost young women their lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A section of an informal displacement camp in Maiduguri, showing temporary shelters made from tarpaulin and local materials. Photo Credit: Rukaiya Ahmed Alibe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Breaking the Silence<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Amid the difficult conversations, there were glimmers of hope. The GRA shared success stories from its awareness campaigns, which have helped survivors break the stigma surrounding sexual violence and gain better access to justice.<\/p>\n

Still, the path to safety and dignity for many displaced women and girls remains long. For the residents of the EYN Camp, hunger and helplessness continue to fuel despair.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rukaiya Ahmed Alibe<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With aid support fading and hunger spreading, many displaced girls in Maiduguri are turning to desperate means to survive, risking their health and future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":53731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,2,11,16,8,52,12,85],"tags":[200,57,202,61,70,167,203,201,24],"class_list":["post-53727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gender","category-health-en","category-humanitarian","category-lake-chad-basin","category-local-news","category-news-en","category-peace-and-security","category-society","tag-abortion","tag-borno-state","tag-camp","tag-idps","tag-insecurity","tag-lake-chad","tag-northeast-nigeria","tag-pregnancy","tag-sexual-abuse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53727"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53733,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53727\/revisions\/53733"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}