Hope Away From Home – A World Where Refugees Are Always Included!

Today on World Refugee Day, we honour people who have been forced to flee, and champion their right to seek safety, build support for their economic and social inclusion, and advocate for solutions to their challenges. 

The refugee situation continues to be a persistent difficulty on the African continent due to complex factors. In Nigeria, insurgency and conflict have created over 3.1 million internally displaced persons forced to flee their homes in the North-East, with Nigeria also being home to over 85,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from neighbouring countries. 

When refugee women are forced to flee, they are often separated from their community network of family and friends. This foundation of support is vital to many women during pregnancy and childbirth, but displaced women often feel isolated. Globally, 41% of all those #ForcedToFlee are children, and since 2018, over 1.9 million children have been born as refugees. 

In a key expansion of our longstanding disaster response and relief efforts, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa #midwives, in partnership with UNHCR Nigeria, began providing our continuous weekly #Mamacare360 antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal classes for women, mothers, their children and families at the Adagom Refugee Settlement in Cross River State in 2021, not only keeping people healthy, but also offering kindness, education and empowerment during a time of uncertainty. The skills and compassion of the #WBFA midwives are critical in #IDP Camps especially, fostering inclusion, and hope away from home. 

In activation of our UNHCR Partnerships Africa 36 Million Solutions: Africa Private Sector commitments, and aligned with the UNHCR’s mission to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of all, WBFA stands #WithRefugees, as they have the right of protection from what they fear, deserve opportunities to rebuild their lives and must be given respect for their courage.

#WorldRefugeeDay