Health status of 21 released Chibok girls improving: Nigerian official

The health status of 21 Chibok school girls released to Nigerian authorities last week by terror group Boko Haram has improved greatly, Health Minister Isaac Adewole said on Tuesday.

The 21 Chibok school girls were handed over to Nigerian health experts for proper medical examination, following their release by Boko Haram last Thursday after two years in captivity.

Serious concerns have been made about their health conditions since they were released. The Nigerian government said it has the capacity to provide quality medical care to the 21 Chibok girls and those to be released later.

Adewole said after meeting with the girls on Monday, he was impressed with the improvement in their health status.

"It is quite clear that their physical condition has improved and their health status has also improved," he told Xinhua.

A team of medical professionals from the National Hospital and Federal Medical Center, both in Abuja, were deployed to ensure the well-being of the victims.

According to the official, the girls are being kept in one of the excellent health facilities in the West African country.

The government would also pay attention to the nutritional support and subsequent integration of the girls into the society, he added.

A total of 276 girls were seized by armed men who stormed their dormitories on the night of April 14, 2014, at the Girls Secondary School in Chibok town of Borno State.

Fifty-seven girls were brave enough to escape then, leaving 219 others behind.

In May, one of the girls escaped from their captors with her baby.

With 21 girls released by their captors 913 days after the abduction last Thursday, 197 others are still being held.

The government said it would continue with the negotiations for the release of other girls still in Boko Haram's capture. Endit