Nigeria – Health advocates seek reinstatement of suspended Lagos pregnancy guidelines

At the programme, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, a professor, stated that the state still records about 400 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, describing the figure as unacceptable for a megacity.

by Emmanuel Agbo
July 8, 2026

Health advocates have renewed calls on the Lagos State government to reinstate the suspended Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications (STOP Guidelines), saying the policy could provide doctors with clearer clinical guidance and help reduce preventable maternal deaths.

The call was made by the Project Manager for Pamoja, Rumunse Obi, in an article titled “Dr Majek and the Ghost: Why Lagos Must Revisit the STOP Guidelines”, shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday.

Continued: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/893830-health-advocates-seek-reinstatement-of-suspended-lagos-pregnancy-guidelines.html

Nigeria – Oyo Assembly seeks stakeholders input on unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion bill

Sade Oguntola
June 25, 2026

The Chairman of the Oyo State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Hon. Rilwan Gbadamosi Saminu, has called for collective action to address the growing challenges of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortion, describing them as major public health concerns affecting families and communities across the state.

Speaking at the public hearing on the Oyo State Unplanned Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion (Prevention and Regulation) Bill, 2025, Saminu noted that many young girls and women face unintended pregnancies that disrupt their education, careers, family life, and future aspirations.

Continued: https://tribuneonlineng.com/oyo-assembly-seeks-stakeholders-input-on-unintended-pregnancy-unsafe-abortion-bill/

Nigeria – 60 youths trained as sexual reproductive health champions in Taraba

By : Charles Akpeji
13 June 2026

The West and Central Africa Health Options (WCAHealth), in collaboration with the Taraba State Ministry of Health, has graduated 60 community youths and leaders as Sexual Reproductive Health Champions under its Comprehensive Care and Essential Support Services (ACCESS) Programme.

…Speaking at the graduation ceremony in Jalingo after a three day intensive training, the Taraba Coordinator of WCAHealth and lead facilitator, Ibrahim Sheye, said the programme was designed to address barriers preventing adolescents, particularly girls, from accessing accurate sexual and reproductive health information.

Continued: https://guardian.ng/features/health/60-youths-trained-as-sexual-reproductive-health-champions-in-taraba/

13.06.2026

News

Ibrahim Sheye

West and Central Africa Health Options

Africa

Nigeria

Nigeria – Lagos Launches Toll-Free Reproductive Health Helpline for Women Facing Unplanned Pregnancies

11 June 2026
By Onuora Aninwobodo

The Lagos State Government and ARDA Development Communications Incorporated have launched a toll-free reproductive health helpline aimed at supporting women and girls facing unplanned pregnancies and reducing maternal deaths linked to unsafe abortions.

The initiative, known as the No Stigma, Total Support and Sustained Action (NTS) Project, features ITUNU, a free and anonymous Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform accessible through 08000017777. The service provides confidential reproductive health information, counseling and referrals to healthcare and support providers.

Continued: https://www.nigeriainfo.fm/news/homepagelagos/lagos-launches-toll-free-reproductive-health-helpline-for-women-facing-unplanned-pregnancies/

11.06.2026

News

ARDA Development Communications

Dr. Kehinde Ososanya

No Stigma Total Support and Sustained Action Project

Priscilla Fibarissima

Nigeria – Ogun monarch backs reforming legalisation of safe abortion guidelines

June 7, 2026

The Oloruba of Oruba-Ota, Aworiland, and a Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Champion, Oba Wadudu Ajani Eniade Deinde (Ariwajoye I), has thrown his weight behind the legalisation of the Safe Termination of Pregnancy (SToP) bill, calling on the Ogun State House of Assembly to pass the bill into law.

Oba Deinde made the appeal during an advocacy visit to his palace by a women’s advocacy group, Trust and Support Foundation (TSF), led by its Executive Director of the group, Mrs. Victoria Madukwem, at Ota, Ogun State.

The monarch pleaded with the state Assembly to quickly pass the bill into law for the safety and benefits of women and young girls who were victims of rape, incest, noting that ‘SToP’ guidelines would give way for unsafe abortion being perpetrated by married women and girls of gender-based violence.

Continued: https://thenationonlineng.net/ogun-monarch-backs-reforming-legalisation-of-safe-abortion-guidelines/

07.06.2026

Oba Wadudu Ajani Eniade Deinde

Oloruba Of Oruba-Ota

Safe Termination of Pregnancy guideline

Trust and Support Foundation

Nigeria – The Girl Behind the Data

3 June 2026
Ufuoma Azege

When Obunime — everyone called her Nime — died two weeks before her seventeenth birthday, silence settled on her home in a way no one had prepared for. Before that moment there had been rules and expectations, whispers and the ever-present fear of “what will people say?” After her death none of that mattered. Her parents stopped worrying about reputation. The questions that once carried judgment — whether she was wayward, how the pregnancy happened — shrank into cruelty beside the ache of loss. What remained, plain and raw, was grief.

Her mother kept saying she wished Nime had told her. “Had I known, Nime won’t have died,” she said, imagining a different ending. In the days before the end there had been hope. When Nime started waking at night in tears and clutching her stomach, her father rushed her to hospital. Doctors fought to save her. Tests were run, surgeons operated. The diagnosis was sepsis after a miscarriage, likely following an unsafe abortion. “When she gets better, we can ask her what happened,” her parents told themselves as they begged clinicians to save their child.

Continued: https://dailytimesng.com/the-girl-behind-the-data/

04.06.2026

Lagos Pregnancy Care Policy Suspension Increases Unsafe Abortions – Experts Warn

June 3, 2026
GLADYS OMAMOGHO

Health experts and reproductive rights advocates have raised concerns over the continued suspension of Lagos State Safe Termination of Pregnancy (STOP) Guidelines, saying the decision is putting women’s lives at risk and contributing to unsafe abortions.

Speaking at a two-day training for members of the Network of Reproductive Health Journalists of Nigeria (NRHJN) in Gbagada, Lagos, stakeholders said the suspension of the guidelines has made it harder for doctors to provide lifesaving care to women facing serious pregnancy-related health challenges.

Continued: https://radionigerialagos.gov.ng/lagos-pregnancy-care-policy-suspension-increases-unsafe-abortions-experts-warn/

When Silence Becomes Dangerous: The Debate Over Maternal Health And Lagos’ STOP Guidelines

by Chioma Umeha
May 29, 2026

The conversation around reproductive healthcare in Nigeria rarely remains calm for long. In Lagos State, the ongoing suspension of the Safe Termination of Pregnancy (STOP) guideline underscores the deep controversy and critical need surrounding safe abortion access. Worldwide, voices are increasingly advocating for decriminalisation to prevent unsafe practices and save lives. One of the recurring questions is: what happens to women whose pregnancies place their lives in danger when the healthcare system itself becomes uncertain about how to respond?

That question has resurfaced following renewed public debate over the suspension of Lagos State’s Safe Termination of Pregnancy (STOP) Guidelines. Introduced to provide medical practitioners with clarity on managing complicated pregnancies within the boundaries of Nigerian law, the guidelines were suspended in 2022 amid controversy and public backlash. Since then, healthcare advocates, medical professionals and reproductive health organisations have continued to express concern that the suspension may have created more confusion than protection.

Continued: https://independent.ng/when-silence-becomes-dangerous-the-debate-over-maternal-health-and-lagos-stop-guidelines/

Nigeria – Oyo PHC Board Begins Adaptation Of National Safe Pregnancy Termination Guidelines

by Kazeem Awojoodu
May 17, 2026

In its efforts to strengthen reproductive health services and improve maternal health outcomes across the state, the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board has commenced the adaptation of the National Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy (STOP).

Speaking at a two-day adaptation process for the STOP guidelines held at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the Executive Secretary of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, reaffirmed the commitment of the Oyo State Government to reducing maternal morbidity and mortality through evidence-based policies, improved access to quality healthcare services, and enhanced capacity building for healthcare providers at all levels of care.

Continued: https://independent.ng/oyo-phc-board-begins-adaptation-of-national-safe-pregnancy-termination-guidelines/

18.05.2026

News

Dr. Moriam Olaide Jagun

Dr. Muideen Olatunji

maternal morbidity

maternal mortality

Oyo State Primary Health Care Board

safe abortion guidelines

Nigeria – Unsafe Abortion: Teenage Girls Resort To Potash, Fungicide, Herbal Mixes

By THE POINTER
May 17, 2026

She writhed in pain, blood streaming down her legs. Atop the table, a black nylon bag partly concealed a dark concoction in a bottle and some unknown tablets littered by the side. The air was thick with a strange and strong odour, bloodied clothes, tissues and pads strewn across the room. Her life flashed before her, and even though she was in a mess, no one must know. She would rather perish than to be caught pregnant.

It is often the case that when a teenage girl discovers she is pregnant, her first instinct is rarely to visit a hospital. Instead, she turns to the secret economy of abortion, a world of back-alley chemists, unregulated herbal concoctions, and dangerously misused pharmaceutical drugs.

Continued: https://www.thepointersnewsonline.com/unsafe-abortion-teenage-girls-resort-to-potash-fungicide-herbal-mixes/