No mother ever wants to face the tough choices many mothers in conflict zones, like Borno have to face on a daily basis. The struggle for survival, keeping a severely malnourished child alive, while at the same time struggling for their own survival, knowing that the treatment that will keep their child alive will also help keep them alive. This is a difficult choice to imagine. In some parts of Northern Nigeria, where health services are still struggling to return to normal following insurgency attacks, this is a daily reality for many families have to face.
Dr. Sulaiman Meleh, The Executive Secretary of the Borno State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BSPHCDA), in an interview with Nigeria Health Watch in August, stated that primary healthcare was one of the worst-hit sectors at the peak of the insurgency. The local infrastructure was destroyed and human resources grossly depleted. This had far-reaching consequences for the state, including severe malnutrition in children below the age of five. In addition, access to life-saving health care services like family planning, immunisation, maternal and child health services was reduced.
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