Rejoicing with rescued girl. FGN must rescue all other captives

In yesterday's post I was joyful about the rescue of one of our #ChibokGirls. Today, the news is that she is not one of the 113 still in captivity: Nigeria's Chibok girls: Schoolgirl 'not one of 276'






Nonetheless, we rejoice with her family. She's one of thousands in captivity even though she's not one of our 113 #ChibokGirls. They all must be rescued. 

The BBC gives an excellent account of how the situation has unfolded thus far:

The fate of the Chibok girls

The Federal Government of Nigeria under the Muhammad Buhari administration is to be commended for continued efforts to rescue and negotiate the release of our #ChibokGirls and all abducted Nigerians. However, we urge the redoubling of efforts to rescue them all, and to bring peace and security to the Northeast where there are millions of people facing humanitarian crisis.  None of us is secure if some of us are insecure.

Another Chibok Schoolgirl Rescued, joining 82 released earlier

Another Chibok Schoolgirl Rescued

The news about the rescue of one more of our #ChibokGirls gives cause for optimism on the release/rescue of the 112 #ChibokGirls still in captivity.  The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is to be commended for its promise to #BringBackOurGirls. We urge that it redoubles the efforts to rescue them and all other abducted Nigerians from captivity. As the rescue or release happens, we urge the FGN to develop a comprehensive framework for cutting edge psychosocial care and long term support that create conditions for recovery as well as enhanced capacity to resume a modicum of normalcy in their lives.

It's wonderful that this young woman now joins the 82 of our #ChibokGirls who were released earlier this month, after negotiations undertaken by the ICRC on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. We rejoice with them and their families. We hope that they will receive culturally appropriate psychosocial care that enables them to cope with the grave trauma experienced for over 3 years. 

The photo below shows the 82 young women with President Muhammadu Buhari and members of his cabinet.

This photo below is while they were waiting to be airlifted 

Below is while they were getting on helicopters that airlifted them.

We are happy to hear that our #ChibokGirls82 will be reunited with their families.  FG to reunite 82 Chibok girls with parents

To reiterate: It's important that these young women are given the best psychosocial care possible so they can regain a modicum of normalcy in their lives. It's great that UNFPA and UNICEF as well as other international agencies have expressed their readiness to help in this regard.  The Nigerian government should continue to take advantage of their offer.  However, it should also have its own comprehensive framework that gives an overarching structure to the relief work in the Northeast.  Below is the UNFPA's statement on this: 

Director's Statement and UNFPA Press Release on the Release of 82 Chibok Girls

Monday, 8 May 2017

Statement by Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the UN Population Fund, on Release of 82 Chibok Girls

UNITED NATIONS, New York, 8 May 2017 –We, at UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, welcome the recent release of 82 more Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram. We call for the urgent release of the remaining girls and all other abductees.

UNFPA is fully prepared to provide the released girls with emergency reproductive health care, psychosocial counselling and other critical support. We have already deployed an emergency team of psychosocial counsellors and health professionals to help meet the freed girls’ critical needs.

UNFPA is already providing care and rehabilitation support to the 21 girls released last October. The Fund stands ready to extend such vital support to these 82 girls, as well as any others who may be released in the future.  

***

UNFPA on Standby to Provide Psychosocial Support, Reproductive Health Care to Just-Freed Chibok Girls

UNITED NATIONS, New York/Abuja, 8 May 2017—UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, welcomes the release of an additional 82 Chibok girls who were abducted by the Boko Haram group, and is on standby to provide emergency reproductive health care, psychosocial counselling and other critical support to the survivors.

In partnership with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, UNFPA continues to support women and girls who are survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. For the newly released Chibok girls, UNFPA has deployed an emergency team of psychosocial counsellors and health professionals to assist with the profiling of the girls, so their critical needs can be met.

The newly-released girls will also be part of a similar rehabilitation programme that was set up for the 21 Chibok girls who were released in October 2016. The programme is tailor-made to meet each girl’s specific needs of counselling, to help overcome the trauma endured after being held under captivity for more than three years. The programme includes, among others, access to quality education to bridge the learning gap created during the abduction, access to reproductive health care for their sexual well-being and rehabilitation support, and a skills-acquisition programme to ease their re-integration into their society. 

Since the start of the insurgency in the North-East of Nigeria, 6 in 10 girls are reported to have experienced a form of gender-based violence, and many have limited access to sexual and reproductive health care. UNFPA and partners have provided direct prevention and response services to 200,000 women and girl survivors, or at risk of gender-based violence through, its ‘safe spaces’ and community outreach. More than 3.5 million survivors have been reached with sexual and reproductive health care services, psychosocial support and counselling.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, delivers a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact:

In New York: Omar Gharzeddine, +1 212 297 5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org

In Abuja: Lolade Johnson, Tel.: +234 705 111 1200, odaniel@unfpa.org

Kori Habib Tel.: Tel.: +234 803 450 0016, habib@unfpa.org

UNICEF's statement is as follows:
ABUJA, Nigeria, 7 May 2017 – “UNICEF welcomes Saturday’s release of over 80 of the girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents at their school in Chibok over three years ago.
“It is heartening to know that the girls will be returning to their families who have been waiting for this day. They will face a long and difficult process to rebuild their lives after the indescribable horror and trauma they have suffered at the hands of Boko Haram.
"UNICEF is on standby to support the Nigerian authorities to provide the comprehensive psychosocial support and other specialized services needed. We will help reunite the girls with their families and make sure they can continue their education in a safe environment. Already staff at a UNICEF supported health clinic have been supporting immediate efforts to identify the girls and conduct medical check-ups before their onward transport.
“UNICEF calls on Boko Haram to end all grave violations against children, especially the abduction of children and the sexual abuse and forced marriage of girls.
“We commend the government for this important achievement in helping to protect children impacted by the conflict in northeast Nigeria but remain deeply concerned for the thousands of women and children still held in captivity by Boko Haram. Greater efforts must be made to bring them all to safety and home to their families.”
“UNICEF has a comprehensive response to help children who have been affected by the conflict in the Lake Chad Basin and works with national authorities to support hundreds of children and women who have escaped or been released from Boko Haram. Every child is unique and requires different levels of support, so there is no standard formula or defined timeframe for these children to recover. UNICEF is committed to doing whatever it takes, as long as it takes to help these children recover a sense of normalcy with our available resources.”
We should thank UNFPA and UNICEF but also keep reminding them of their promise.  Let's also not forget that 113 #ChibokGirls and thousands of Nigerian women and children remain in Boko Haram captivity.  Please continue to agitate for their rescue.
We are saddened that 112 of our #ChibokGirls remain in Boko Haram captivity. We can't imagine how their parents and families are feeling and are praying for the rescue of these 112 #ChibokGirls and all other Nigerians who remain in captivity. May God bless and strengthen them until they are rescued, hopefully sooner rather than later.

It's also important to realize that the humanitarian crisis caused by Boko Haram goes beyond our #ChibokGirls.  For a good discussion on this, please read the UNICEF April 2016 report,  Beyond Chibok