LIFE empowers young women to prevent unsafe abortion

February 14, 2025
by Chinyere Okoroafor

No fewer than 40 young women from that ages of 15 – 35 years have been trained on the importance of reproductive health and the dangers of unsafe abortion in Lagos by Leadership Initiative for Youth Empowerment (LIFE).

The three day capacity building workshop On Amplifying female voices in demanding accountability on preventable maternal deaths held at Sunfit, Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos.

It aimed at equipping young individuals with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their bodies and reproductive choices which will help reduce the number of deaths from unsafe abortions. The project aims to build the capacity of 40% of participants to educate others and create awareness.

Continued: https://thenationonlineng.net/life-empowers-young-women-to-prevent-unsafe-abortion/


How Trump and Musk’s War on Government Will Lead to More Abortions

There would be 1.3 million unsafe abortions.”

David Corn, Washington, DC, Bureau Chief. Mother Jones
Feb 12, 2025

In 2023, during a speech at a Washington, DC, gala for the far-right Faith & Freedom Coalition, Donald Trump declared that he was proud to be “the most pro-life president” in US history. Yet with the war on the federal government that he and his billionaire sidekick Elon Musk are now waging, one probable result will likely not please his conservative Christian allies: an increase in the number of abortions, perhaps by over 1 million.

The first target of the Trump-Musk crusade has been the US Agency for International Development, the federal agency that distributes foreign aid through programs that help millions of people defend against deadly diseases (such as malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, Covid, and ebola), obtain clean water, gain access to health care, bolster democratic institutions, and build more productive local economies. Of its $23.4 billion budget for 2024, the agency earmarked $2.2 billion for health initiatives. About one-quarter of that was to be spent on clean-water programs. Two-hundred-and-forty-seven million dollars was committed to maternal and child health. Programs for family planning and reproductive health received $191 million. (Including other government programs, Congress in recent years has annually appropriated about $600 million in total for overseas family planning.)

Continued: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/donald-trump-elon-musk-usaid-abortions/


Kenya – Health experts warn restrictive policy will drive more women toward unsafe abortions

Unsafe abortions, driven by restrictive laws and pervasive stigma, continue to claim lives and destroy futures.

Monday, February 10, 2025
By Angeline Ochieng

A few hours after leaving a herbalist's house, Mercy* started experiencing strong abdominal pains. A sudden, hot rush of a warm liquid running down Mercy's inner thighs startled her. To her shock, she noticed blood flow.

The 16-year-old felt a little relieved. Hours earlier, she had been a guest of the herbalist, and she knew for certain these were after-effects of the unsafe abortion procedure she had undergone in the company of a friend at her rural home in Bungoma.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/health/health-experts-warn-restrictive-policy-will-drive-more-women-toward-unsafe-abortions--4921212


Sierra Leone’s proposed “Abortion Bill” and matters arising

Fayia J. Moseray
February 4, 2025

Sierra Leone’s proposed Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health (SMRH) bill, which has been laid before the country’s House of Representatives (known as the Well of Parliament), has attracted a fierce debate between the ‘moralists’ in the society and those in support of legalising abortion.

The country’s religious community, on one hand, and the citizens, on another, are up in arms against what they describe as an evil bill, a situation which has necessitated broader consultation with the government through its Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MoICE)

Continued: https://dubawa.org/sierra-leones-proposed-abortion-bill-and-matters-arising/


Africa – Prof. Charles Ngwena – A stalwart has bowed out

01 February 2025

The Centre for Human Rights is saddened to announce the death of our own, Professor Charles Ngwena.  Prof. Ngwena passed away in Pretoria on the 31st of January 2025.

Prof. Ngwena (fondly known to us as ‘Charles’) was a towering intellectual, academic, an astute scholar, and a wonderful colleague by any measure.  His death is a deep loss to the human rights field, especially in the fields of sexual and reproductive, as well as disability rights.

Continued: https://www.chr.up.ac.za/latest-news/3936-prof-charles-ngwena-a-stalwart-has-bowed-out


Nigeria – FG launches MAMII Project To Halt Maternal, Neonatal Mortality in Kano

Thursday, 30 January 2025
By Victor Christopher

As part of halting avoidable death, the federal government says efforts are underway to improve access to healthcare services for pregnant women and reduce maternal mortality.

The coordinating minister of health, Professor Ali Pate disclosed this at the launch of the Maternal & Neonatal Mortality Innovative Initiative MAMII in Kano.

Continued: https://www.nigeriainfo.fm/news/homepagelagos/fg-launches-mamii-project-to-halt-maternal-neonatal-mortality-in-kano/


Nigeria – How Unsafe Abortion Causes Life-Threatening Complications For Women – LIFE

Taiwo Jimoh 
January 29, 2025

Unsafe abortion is a significant contributor to maternal deaths in Nigeria, with estimates ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 deaths annually. This high mortality rate is primarily due to restrictive abortion laws, which drive women to seek unsafe procedures from unqualified practitioners majority of maternal deaths in Nigeria are linked to unsafe abortions.

According to a recent study carried out by the Leadership Initiative For Youth Empowerment (LIFE), unsafe abortion is still a major public health concern in Nigeria and a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the country.

Continued: https://newtelegraphng.com/how-unsafe-abortion-causes-life-threatening-complications-for-women-life/#google_vignette


Africa – Young people call for all sexual and reproductive health services including safe abortion rights

Jan 27, 2025
By Shobha Shukla, Africa Science News

Not dismayed with regressive reimposition of “global gag rule”, young people are calling to decriminalize abortion and make safe and legal abortion accessible globally to all, including the youth. Six out of 10 unplanned pregnancies end in induced abortion, and around 45% of these abortions are unsafe.

Governments of all countries worldwide will meet at the 69th session of UN Commission on Status of Women (CSW) in March 2025 to review progress an the Beijing Declaration.  

Continued: https://africasciencenews.org/young-people-call-for-all-sexual-and-reproductive-health-services-including-safe-abortion-rights/


Trump 2.0 instills fear in African abortion activists

Nita Bhalla
Jan 27, 2025

NAIROBI - African health activists fear a new crackdown on abortion across Africa after President Donald Trump reinstated an anti-abortion pact that cuts off U.S. funds to foreign charities that provide or promote abortions.

When Trump signed the Mexico City Policy, or "global gag rule", during his first term some African charities were forced to close, denying women safe abortions. It also emboldened local opposition to women's reproductive choice.

Continued: https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/trump-20-instills-fear-in-african-abortion-activists


Sierra Leone is on the brink of legalising abortion. We must not allow the US far right to infiltrate and stop us

Religious extremists from the US are bolstering local opposition by pouring money and messaging into the country under the guise of supporting ‘family values’

Dr Ramatu Bangura
Sat 25 Jan 2025

Sierra Leone is on the precipice of making history in its parliament this week. A new bill being debated would see a deadly centuries-old British colonial law abolished and monumental strides made to protect the safety of women and girls.

For a country where sky-high maternal deaths are a national emergency, the safe motherhood and reproductive health care bill is a lifeline. The new legislation would decriminalise abortion and provide that any girl or woman, regardless of economic status, can seek the reproductive care needed from a qualified medical professional – whether that involves the decision to conceive, to access contraception or to make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jan/25/sierra-leone-is-on-the-brink-of-legalising-abortion-we-must-not-allow-the-us-far-right-to-infiltrate-and-stop-us