By Elizabeth Osayande
July 13, 2025
Nigeria is facing a reproductive health crisis that remains largely invisible in national conversations, yet its toll is deadly and escalating. An estimated 610,000 unsafe abortions occur annually in Nigeria, according to recent national surveys. Of the roughly 20,000 women who die from abortion-related complications each year, nearly half are adolescents. These numbers, though staggering, only hint at the deeper systemic failures that expose Nigerian girls to life-threatening risks for seeking autonomy over their bodies.
At the intersection of public health research, demographic insight, and social justice is Dr. Bosede O. Adejugbe, a US-based Nigerian demographer whose work amplifies this hidden epidemic. Her scholarship brings rare visibility to the lived realities of young girls navigating fertility decisions within a web of restrictive abortion laws, entrenched gender norms, and poor access to adolescent-friendly healthcare services.