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Rich petroleum and oil reserves contribute to Nigeria’s fast-growing economy. With a population of 119 million, more people live here than in any other country in Africa.

However, beginning in May 2013, a violent insurrection by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has forced hundreds of thousands of people in northeast Nigeria to flee their homes and livelihoods. The result has been a humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad region, with critical shortages of food and medical care.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) first worked in Nigeria in 1971. Our projects have focused on responding to conflict, exclusion from healthcare and malnutrition.

Scarlett Brannigan - MSF
Scarlett Brannigan
Nurse
"Our shared humanity": Overcoming noma in Nigeria
British nurse Scarlett writes from Sokoto in northwest Nigeria, where a specialist team is helping children in the community fight a devastating and disfiguring disease through surgery, mental health support, and importantly, prevention
17 Feb 2020 / 6 minute read
Scarlett Brannigan - MSF
Scarlett Brannigan
Nurse
"Rage serves no place": Finding hope in a Noma hospital
British nurse Scarlett joins a specialist team in northwest Nigeria, helping young patients find new life after suffering from a devastating and disfiguring disease
23 Jan 2020 / 8 minute read
Conditions in a camp for people displaced by armed conflict in Benue state, Nigeria
Nigerian health promoter supervisor John Asema
John Asema
Health Promoter
"We are here to save lives": health promotion in Nigerian IDP camps
Every minute, 20 people are forcibly displaced as a result of conflict or persecution, fleeing their homes and villages for the safety of camps. However, they are not out of harm's way once in these camps, where unsanitary conditions and unsafe practices pose a serious risk to their health. That's where health promoter supervisor John and his team come in...
21 Nov 2019 / 5 minute read
Martina at work
Martina Jurigova
Nurse
“We’re fighting to save two babies. Then they bring in a third…”
In an area of northeast Nigeria caught up in conflict, difficulties reaching hospital means that many children don’t arrive until it’s too late. MSF nurse Martina shares her story…
13 Oct 2019 / 6 minute read
Alexandre, Hauwa and Falmata
MSF paediatrician Alexandre Bublitz
Alexandre Bublitz
Paediatrician
Hauwa and Falmata: Strength and resilience in Maiduguri
The ongoing conflict in Northern Nigeria has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and livelihoods. Many of them have taken refuge in the town of Maiduguri, including Falmata and her daughter Hauwa. Paediatrician Alexandre shares their story...
28 Aug 2019 / 5 minute read
Russ Filby
Russ Filbey
Field Administration
“We call them survivors”: Treating the trauma of sexual violence
Working on a project to treat survivors of sexual violence in Nigeria, US administrator Russ answers the difficult question of “What’s the work like?”
11 Jul 2019 / 4 minute read
Amina, an 18-year-old noma patient from Yobe state
Hafiz Muhammed - MSF
Hafiz Muhammed
Surgeon
Noma in Nigeria: "The resilience of our patients is astounding"
Noma is an overlooked but dangerous disease that can leave often young patients disfigured. Hafiz, a surgeon from India, shares his experience of providing life-changing reconstructive surgery in Nigeria...
21 May 2019 / 5 minute read
MSF nurse Bukar with five-year-old Hafsat
Mårten Larsson
Doctor
Nursing in Nigeria: It’s the small things that matter
Swedish paediatrician Mårten shares the story of Bukar, a dedicated Nigerian nurse who survived conflict and returned to treat his community
21 Mar 2019 / 6 minute read
Mårten Larsson
Doctor
Measles in Maiduguri: "It can spread like wildfire"
As malaria season starts to slow down in northeastern Nigeria, Swedish doctor Mårten and his team spot an increase in children arriving with measles. Could there be an outbreak of this life-threatening disease nearby?
05 Mar 2019 / 5 minute read
Mårten Larsson
Doctor
Malaria in Nigeria: "The children have a small chance of survival without us"
As malaria season hits the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, home to thousands of people displaced by conflict, Swedish doctor Mårten is fighting to save the lives of the most vulnerable children.
13 Feb 2019 / 4 minute read
Mothers at Jahun maternity hospital
Pippa Letchworth
Obstetrician / Gynaecologist
ER mode: My last patient in Nigeria
Pippa is an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, recently returned from assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Jahun, part of northern Nigeria’s Jigawa state – an area where high numbers of women and children die during childbirth. 
20 Dec 2018 / 8 minute read
Pippa Letchworth
Obstetrician / Gynaecologist
Taking your hat off: A rare injury in obstetrics 
Pippa is an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant, recently returned from assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Jahun, part of northern Nigeria’s Jigawa state – an area where high numbers of women and children die during childbirth. Here she writes about an unusual and traumatic injury...
17 Dec 2018 / 3 minute read