Nigerian Abortion Laws Haven’t Changed Since 1960. Here’s The Timeline

Lolade Alaka | Citizen
May 14, 2022

Abortion dates back to ancient Egypt, making it one of the oldest medical practices known to man. We know this because the Egyptian pharaohs preserved all their medical techniques in the Ebers Papyrus of 1550 B.C.

Ancient Egyptians have also been described as “the healthiest of all men”, so if they did it, why is the practice of abortion so taboo today? The answer is equally religious, cultural and political.

Continued: https://www.zikoko.com/citizen/nigerian-abortion-laws-heres-the-timeline/

14.05.2022

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Campaign Against Unwanted Pregnancy

Ebers Papyrus

history of abortion

maternal mortality

Nigerian Medical Association

Killed by abortion laws: five women whose stories we must never forget

As the US supreme court threatens to undo 49 years of access to safe and legal terminations, five women who died because of bans on abortion stand as warnings of what is at stake globally

Joe Parkin Daniels, Sarah Johnson, Weronika Strzyżyńska, Kaamil Ahmed and Mercy Kahenda
Sat 7 May 2022

[Stories about:]
Savita Halappanavar, Ireland
Olga Reyes, Nicaragua
‘Izabela’, Poland
‘Manuela’, El Salvador
‘Mildred’, Kenya

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/may/07/killed-by-abortion-laws-five-women-whose-stories-we-must-never-forget

Strategizing to accelerate the reduction of maternal mortality in the African Region

World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa
29 April 2022

Johannesburg – The African Region accounted for 66% of the 303,000 maternal deaths recorded globally in 2017. To address this situation, WHO in collaboration with UNFPA, UNICEF and partners supports Member States to ensure that all women and girls have access to quality and timely health services, particularly during pregnancy, childbirth, and after delivery, leaving no one behind.

« Most maternal deaths in the Region are attributable to five main causes: haemorrhage, pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders, unsafe abortion, infection, and obstructed labour. Of these, complications of haemorrhage and hypertension account for almost 50% of deaths," said Dr. Owen Kaluwa, WHO Representative in South Africa.

Continued: https://www.afro.who.int/news/strategizing-accelerate-reduction-maternal-mortality-african-region

Standing strong: youth health workers from Benin share lessons from sexual and reproductive health and rights workshop

28 April 2022
FIGO Advocating for Safe Abortion Project

From 9–11 March 2022, in Cotonou, Benin, FIGO’s Advocating for Safe Abortion Project worked with the National College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Benin (CNGOB) to organise a capacity building workshop for their counterparts visiting from Mali alongside the Youth Health Workers for Safe Abortion (YHW4SA) – a Beninese network of young pro-choice health professionals set-up in 2021 by CNGOB.

The group attending the workshop was made up of 15 members of the YHW4SA network and five members of the Malian Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SOMAGO).

The aim was to share knowledge and tools on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and on best practice to discuss abortion, in order to enable participants to address abortion stigma and strengthen access to safe abortion in their workplaces and wider communities.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/news/youth-health-workers-benin-share-lessons-srhr-workshop

Tanzania: Govt Advised to Strengthen Legal Measures to Control Sexual Abuses

25 APRIL 2022
Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)

CALL has been made to improve laws to control sexual abuses which contribute to unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions among young girls.

A health expert and Country Director of Marie Stopes Tanzania (MST) Vadacanthara Chandrashekar, hinted this in Dar es Salaam during Iftar organized by Marie Stopes Tanzania to the Muslim community.

Continued: https://allafrica.com/stories/202204250093.html

25.04.2022

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Vadacanthara Chandrashekar

I had four abortions, Óyá, arrest me! The diary of an almost-aborted pro-choice feminist

by Dasola Tewogbade
Apr 22, 2022

My name is Dasola aka Sisí Afrika and I'm a pro-choice advocate in my country. Abortion is considered a felony in Nigeria and last month, I released a book detailing my experiences while trying to have access to abortion – technically making me a criminal – because something as very important as abortion is criminalized. There's even no provision for women who got pregnant through rape.

Introduction to the book
Are you curious about anything related to abortion? Are you sexually active? Do you have a sense of justice? Do you hate being told what you can and cannot do with your body? Then this book is for you.

First of all, let me start this ride (where I don’t know how it’ll end, but I’m excited all the same) by categorically stating that this is NOT fiction… I want to write about the everyday happenings that go on around us and let everyone see that all these ideas every activist stands up for are not, at all, disconnected from our realities. These ideas are not abstract, they’re not some far-away thoughts that happen in never-never lands. These things happen to us at every breathing second of our lives. It doesn’t matter if you’re, not at all, interested in politics, politics is very much interested in you. It shapes your life, it affects it in many ways, much more than you can ever imagine.

Introduction continued at FigureFeminists.com
(From International Campaign for Safe Abortion newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/safeabortionwomensright/22-april-2022?e=372dd34034)

FULL TEXT
of the book at https://figurefeminists.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-diary-of-an-almost-aborted-pro-choice-feminist.pdf

22.04.2022

I had four abortions Óyá arrest me!

Kenya – Post-abortion care is just as important as procedure itself- OBGYN

By Gardy Chacha
April 21st 2022

Prof MOSES OBIMBO explains the danger behind unsafe abortions and why
many women opt to take this route.

Why did you go into Obstetrics and Gynaecology?

Women have a great impact on the health and well-being of humanity. It is women
who carry pregnancies. Every human being alive today is here through a woman.
My interest has always been to make a woman’s health a priority because she not
only has a direct impact on us now but also has an effect on the progeny of the
next generation.

Continued: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/thenairobian/health/2001443702/a-z-of-abortion-through-the-eyes-of-a-doctor

21.04.2022

post-abortion contraception

Nigeria – Comprehensive Sexuality Education Coming to 1,700 Girls Courtesy of Onelife, IPAS

19.04.2022

Onelife Initiative, a non-profit organisation with offices in Oyo, Ekiti and Akwa Ibom, has partnered with Ipas Nigeria to offer comprehensive sexuality education to close to 2,000 females across four local government areas in Oyo State, Nigeria.

According to a statement issued by the organisation, the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Information (SRHR)-themed training will also include information dissemination on the risks attached to unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://fij.ng/article/comprehensive-sexuality-education-coming-to-1700-girls-courtesy-of-onelife-ipas/

Malawi – 669 unsafe abortions out of 4123 teenage pregnancies raise alarm in Phalombe

Apr 19, 2022
Chikondi Magalasi

Phalombe North East Parliamentarian Dennis Namachekecha has bemoaned an increase in unsafe abortions among teenage girls in the district as health office’s report indicate that 669 unsafe abortions were conducted in 2021 alone.

The district’s Youth Friendly Health Services (YFHS) office report indicate that in 2021 there were 4123 teenage pregnancies that were registered out of this 669 unsafely aborted their pregnancies.

Continued: https://malawi24.com/2022/04/19/669-unsafe-abortions-out-of-4123-teenage-pregnancies-raise-alarm-in-phalombe/

Chipata Teens Abusing Cassava Leaves For Abortion

April 16, 2022
By Samuel Khwawe

Some Chipata residents have bemoaned persistent use of Cassava leaves, locally known as Katapa, to terminate pregnancies.

Abigail Sambo of an area called Feni reveals to Diamond News that most young people continue to indulge in unprotected sex and when girls fall pregnant, they opt to abort using Cassava leaves that are inserted in the cervix, a practice that she says has led to devastating consequences like death that she has witnessed so far.

Sambo says the vice is often perpetuated by adults that perform the unsafe methods on girls and young women and the vicious cycle has persisted in poor communities where many downplay awareness messages on unsafe abortion.

She made the comments during a sensitization meeting on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights and Social Accountability held by the Youth Development Foundation (YDF).- Diamond TV

Source: https://zambianobserver.com/chipata-teens-abusing-cassava-leaves-for-abortion/

16.04.2022