35 Interrogating the mental health condition of vulnerable Liberia females of Oru refugee camp in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract PTH 9: Miscellaneous 2, B302 (FCSH), September 5, 2025, 11:30 - 12:24 This paper examines the mental health condition of vulnerable Liberia females in the Oru refugee camp in Ogun state, Nigeria. Unlike their male counterparts, before their arrival at the Oru refugee camp, many Liberian women and girl children refugees have already endured profound trauma, either directly or by witnessing the suffering of others. This pre-existing distress contributed to significant psychological breakdowns among a substantial number of them. The women and girl children’s vulnerability and exposure to forced labour, forced relationship, and marriage, gender-specific forms of violence, including rape, sexual harassment, and physical assault, malnutrition, impoverishment, health challenges, and homelessness in their home country and refugee camps immensely contributed to their alarming mental health problem. Through a desk study and application of secondary research methods derived from articles, textbooks, international organisations reports, and newspapers, the result shows that this vulnerable gender currently exhibits signs of acute mental health distress, including aggression, restlessness, violent and destructive behaviours, insomnia, incoherent speech, irritability, and a sensation of heaviness in the head. The study also revealed that during the Liberia war, some of the female victims lost their entire extended family and livelihood. When they sought refuge in the ECOMOG camp, they were subjected to repeated sexual violence, resulting in an unintended pregnancy and the birth of children whose fathers could not be identified. Some of them were diagnosed with a post-traumatic psychiatric disorder, characterized by an affective disorder and severe depression, and subsequently admitted to Psychiatric Hospital for treatment. The study’s conclusion indicated that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UHRC), the Nigerian Government, the Ogun State Government, and other stakeholders pay less attention to mental health issues affecting the Oru Liberia female refugees in the state.