Patrick Egwu

"Malnutrition, rickets and malaria are the three biggest health challenges we face here," says Sr. Juliana Ekwoanya, who works at the clinic run by Hope for the Village Child Foundation, a local nonprofit in Kaduna.

The Divino Amore Vocational Institute hosts nearly 100 female student entrepreneurs learning skills in baking, catering, graphic design, computer literacy and business education.

 In 2020, Nigeria was declared free of the wild poliovirus, but new variants of the virus remain in circulation and pose health risks to children, especially in rural areas that lack access to clean water and basic sanitation and hygiene facilities.

In the last few years, the Medical Missionaries of Mary in Nigeria have found themselves entangled in a web of violent attacks by bandits. They have been living in fear and danger, unsure of what happens next.

Sr. Rita Schwarzenberger helps communities resolve conflict through training. With another sister's help, she also runs a nonprofit to improve health in rural communities. The sisters have survived being targeted by bandits.

Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena minister in Gusau in Zamfara state, Nigeria. Amid growing attacks in the region from armed gangs, the sisters live in fear. But they take precautions and focus on prayer.

Nigeria has one of sub-Saharan Africa's highest rates of human trafficking. But a network of Catholic sisters is coordinating anti-trafficking efforts to help survivors and prevent others from being victimized.

Nigerian sisters use WhatsApp to share knowledge about the coronavirus. As the virus spreads in Nigeria, they are educating the people in their ministries, including children in Enugu and trafficking survivors in Lagos, to take precautions.