April 15, 2025
Initiative to Resist Institutional Slavery and Exploitation (IRISE) has expressed the urgent need for the reinstatement of the Safe Termination Of Pregnancy guidelines
In a press release signed by the Director, IRISE, Nigeria, Omodele Ibitoye Ejeh, the group justified their request adding that Women in Nigeria have continued to face multiple barriers including legal restrictions.
Taiwo Jimoh
April 8, 2025
A non-governmental organization, Leadership Initiative for Youth Empowerment (LIFE), has urged mothers to teach their daughters comprehensive sex education to prevent unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
The Executive Director of LIFE, Abiodun Unegbo, who made this call on Tuesday while addressing Journalists in Lagos, noted that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of maternal deaths resulting from unsafe abortion.
Quoting statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Unegbo said approximately 2,870 women die each year in Nigeria due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth.
Continued; https://newtelegraphng.com/mothers-urged-to-teach-their-daughters-sex-education/
Ota Akhigbe
April 8, 2025
For so many women and girls across Nigeria, just trying to get the healthcare they need feels like playing a terrifying game of chance. You never know if you’ll find help that’s there when you need it and works the way it should, and it ends up taking a toll on their health and what they can hope for in life.
“Additionally, societal norms within a patriarchal structure can sometimes limit a woman’s ability to independently make timely decisions about her health and finances.”
Continued: https://businessday.ng/opinion/article/women-and-the-unmet-need-for-healthcare/
Women Empowering Women Initiative (WEWIN)
April 8, 2025
In Nigeria, the conversation around abortion is often shrouded in silence, stigma, and misinformation. For many women and girls, abortion is not a decision taken lightly—it is a decision made within constrained realities, limited options, and in some cases, in a desperate bid for survival. Yet, the societal and institutional stigma attached to abortion drives many into unsafe conditions, endangering lives that could otherwise be protected by comprehensive reproductive health care.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, approximately 1.8 million induced abortions occur in Nigeria every year, with over half of them deemed unsafe. The restrictive legal framework, where abortion is only permitted to save a woman’s life, means access to safe abortion services is limited and often shrouded in secrecy. But beyond legal restrictions, stigma plays a more insidious role, silencing women, discouraging healthcare providers, and eroding the dignity of those who seek reproductive autonomy.
—WEWIN
March 11, 2025
Every year on International Women’s Day (IWD), we reflect on progress, celebrate achievements, and reignite our commitment to gender equality. IWD 2025’s theme, “Accelerate Action,” underscores the urgent need for swift and tangible progress in achieving gender equality and reproductive justice.
Nowhere is this acceleration more critical than in the fight for reproductive rights, particularly the right to safe and legal abortion in Lagos State, Nigeria.
By Olayinka Ajayi
March 8, 2025
The founding Director, Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre, WARDC, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi has said there’s urgent need to bring the issue of maternal mortality to the front burner of government.
Fielding questions from Newsmen during a two days workshop on ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Nigeria’ Akiyode-Afolabi noted that Nigeria is second to India in high maternal mortality globally.
Continued: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/maternal-mortality-experts-call-for-effective-abortion-laws/
March 7, 2025
By Gift Oba
The Ogun State House of Assembly has said it will assist in providing the necessary legislative backing to protect genuine victims of rape and other vulnerable people.
The Speaker, Oludaisi Elemide, gave the assurance on Friday while receiving a gender-based group, Gender Development Initiative, GEDIN, at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Wed, 5 Mar 2025
By Kelsey Kalu
Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads in its fight to safeguard the lives and futures of its women. Despite recent strides made by government initiatives and international partnerships, like the World Bank’s $570 million primary healthcare project aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality, the country remains haunted by a hidden crisis: unsafe abortion. In Nigeria, where one in every 13 women is at risk of dying from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth (World Bank, 2024), unsafe abortion practices are not only a deeply personal tragedy but also a public health emergency that exposes systemic failures.
Continued: https://dailytrust.com/talking-about-maternal-health-in-nigeria-how-many-lives-are-at-stake/
by Soji Ajibola
February 28, 2025
An increasing wave of maternal-child mortality traceable to an unsafe abortion is becoming a serious concern to the stakeholders especially in health sector, especially in view of the numbers of lives the nation is losing to the unwholesome actions of quack medical practitioners and the influence of certain religious leaders.
Also, the position of the laws of both the Federal Government and the respective states in the country on abortion could be another reason why some women and teenagers seek the services of unqualified medical practitioners which often results in complications and subsequently death.
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/
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