ICRC: 19,000 victims of insurgency benefited from our surgeries in nine years

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has performed surgeries on more than 19,000 victims of insurgency since 2015 in Borno state.

NAN reports that Adal-Elah Tailkh, ICRC’s administration officer, said the surgeries were conducted at the Maiduguri Specialist Hospital.

Tailkh who spoke with journalists on Wednesday, said about 279 patients are in admission, while surgical procedures have been carried out on 1,090 others in the first eight months of 2023.

He said the surgical unit of the agency has been training health workers and also attending to victims of bomb blasts and those who sustained injuries during attacks by insurgents.

“Patients in ICRC-supported surgical programmes receive support services of national and international standards,” he said.

“Beyond the free surgical care, the project works with the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital’s Physical Rehabilitation Centre where it refers patients in need.

“Patients in need can also benefit from access to mental health, psychosocial and physiotherapy at the state’s specialists hospital.”

Zainab Abdulrahman, a pregnant woman, who is a beneficiary of the surgical services, recounted how she was shot by terrorists while travelling in a commercial vehicle in Borno.

The 30-year-old woman said she was shot in the leg and has been admitted to the health facility for about a year.

“I was hit by three bullets in my legs and thigh. The army brought me here for treatment,” Abdulrahman added.

“This is my second time of coming here for free treatment. Three years ago I was here for nine months after I was hit in the stomach in a Boko Haram attack.”