Conflicts and Faith-Based Humanitarian Healthcare Services in Nigeria
摘要
The uneven distribution of healthcare infrastructure across Africa continues to be one of the major challenges of development with a significant impact on the populations particularly those in poor rural areas. When violent armed conflicts take place within this context, the pressure on health facilities increases, and delivering healthcare services becomes challenging. The World Health Organization (WHO) correctly observes that countries that host fragile conflict-affected and vulnerable settings also have a high burden of disease and death. Protracted armed conflicts continue to challenge the fragile healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria already characterized by poor funding, inadequate modern medical facilities, and manpower leaving a gap that is being filled by private providers of healthcare, international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), some of whom are faith-based organizations (FBOs). Against this background, the chapter explores the phenomenon of faith-based humanitarian healthcare in the conflict-affected and vulnerable settings of Northeast Nigeria which has been significantly impacted by the Boko Haram insurgency and other forms of armed violenceViolence. It examines the roles, challenges, and impact, of FBOs involved in humanitarian healthcare in the context of the humanitarian crises in the conflict-affected region.