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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.

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
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
Pippa Letchworth
Obstetrician / Gynaecologist
Bruised and battered: Obstetrics in Nigeria
Pippa is an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant from the UK on 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.
23 Nov 2018 / 3 minute read
Pippa Letchworth
Obstetrician / Gynaecologist
Obstetrics in Nigeria: Meeting the “real heroes”
Pippa is an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant from the UK on 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. In this blog, she shares her experience of meeting a local surgeon.
02 Oct 2018 / 3 minute read
Pippa Letchworth
Obstetrician / Gynaecologist
Wound day: Helping new mums in Nigeria fight infection
Pippa is an obstetrics and gynaecology consultant from the UK. She is currently on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Jahun, part of northern Nigeria’s Jigawa state – working on a maternity project in an area where a high number of women and children die during childbirth. In this blog, she shares how her team treats women for complicated infections after a caesarean.
06 Sep 2018 / 4 minute read