The organisation, which marked its 50 years of providing medical-humanitarian services to humanity has also assisted 17, 000 deliveries, treated 8, 000 patients with malaria provided over 200, 000 primary health care consultations to Nigerians between January and September 2021.
Communications Manager of MSF in Nigeria Ghada Saafan, who disclosed this in an interview with The Guardian in Abuja, noted that the organisation is working in eight states of Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Benue, Ebonyi and Cross Rivers states providing primary health care to displaced persons, providing maternal support and child health care, treating patients during disease outbreaks and participating in vaccination.
Saafan observed that the organisation works with local authorities and collaborate with the local Ministries and federal ministry of health, adding that a major challenge was that some areas are out of reach due to the problem of insecurity.
She stated that Nigeria holds a special place in MSF, as it was in Nigeria that the idea of establishing the organisation was conceived during the Civil War.
She said, “We cannot celebrate 50 years anniversary without Nigeria. Nigeria holds a special place in MSF. In the late 1960s, a group of young French doctors witnessed the devastating impact of Nigeria’s civil war. When they returned home, they founded the international medical humanitarian organisation in 1971.”
