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/

Survivors of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights [Violations] Narrate Harrowing Experiences

May 15, 2026
By Kemo Kanyi

Survivors of sexual and reproductive health rights violations from Eastern and Western Africa have shared harrowing personal experiences, highlighting persistent legal and systemic barriers to accessing essential health services.

The testimonies were delivered during a side event on sexual and reproductive health and rights held on Thursday in Banjul, on the margins of the on-going African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights sessions.

Participants described experiences marked by stigma, lack of access to care, and inadequate post-abortion and reproductive health services.

Continued: https://www.voicegambia.com/2026/05/15/survivors-of-sexual-and-reproductive-health-rights-narrate-harrowing-experiences/?amp=1

15.05.2026

Events/Campaigns

African Commission on Human and People’s Rights

Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie

post-abortion care

reproductive health violations

Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa

Stranger Removal: Inside Kenya’s Dangerous Underground Abortion Market

Abortion in Kenya exists in a legal grey zone. It is permitted under the 2010 Constitution in specific circumstances.

Elvine Tina Ouma
May 7, 2026

On March 3, 2025, a short video went viral on TikTok, captioned “Get ready with me to go for stranger removal.” The two-minute clip amassed more than 90k+ views, likes, comments, and shares. The video documented a young woman preparing for an abortion without ever mentioning the word.

The phrase “stranger removal” is a part of a growing digital code. It is ‘algospeak’—coded language used to evade automated content moderation systems that flag posts containing words like abortion.

In Kenya, the phrase has quickly entered online slang. But its spread reflects something more significant. Behind the coded language is an expanding underground abortion market shaped by legal ambiguity, high costs, and limited access to safe services. Increasingly, that market is taking shape online.

Continued: https://www.theelephant.info/analysis/2026/05/07/stranger-removal-inside-kenyas-dangerous-underground-abortion-market/

“We are going to die”: The frontline costs of Uganda’s new US health agreement

“We are fighting political and cultural wars. Wars that are not ours.”

Soita Khatondi Wepukhulu
6 May 2026

On an early morning in February, 23-year-old Suzan Akello was found lying dead on a veranda outside a house she had visited in Namataala, Mbale town, in eastern Uganda. Friends said she could not afford a clinic and had taken herbal medicine to terminate a pregnancy. By the time Akello needed urgent care, it was too late.

Post-abortion care services (PAC) are legal in Uganda, secured through years of advocacy and government-NGO collaboration, some under US-supported programmes. But health workers, activists, and patients told The New Humanitarian that in recent months, post-abortion care and critical HIV/AIDS services are increasingly caught in the fallout of a new $2.3 billion health agreement between Uganda and the United States, one that is integrating donor-funded programmes into Uganda’s public health system while reducing reliance on NGOs.

Continued: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2026/05/06/frontline-costs-uganda-new-us-health-agreement

Learning to deliver comprehensive abortion care

How the new HRP comprehensive abortion care learning programme supports safe and rights‑based practice

World Health Organization
28 April 2026

A new HRP (the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction) learning programme, available as a WHO Academy course, supports health workers providing abortion care to do so safely, respectfully and with quality. The new four-part learning programme on comprehensive abortion care brings key elements of comprehensive abortion care together in one coherent learning pathway.

Abortion is a common health intervention. It is very safe when carried out using a method recommended by the Abortion care guideline, appropriate to the pregnancy duration and by someone with the necessary skills. However, around 45% of abortions are unsafe.

Continued: https://www.who.int/news/item/28-04-2026-learning-to-deliver-comprehensive-abortion-care

28.04.2026

Commentary

Antonella Lavelanet

Comprehensive Abortion Care

post-abortion care

UNFPA

WHO Abortion Care Guideline

World Health Organization

Global

Clinical

Health

Eswatini – Burdens of GBV, unintended pregnancy, post-abortion care

By Colani Hlatjwako
22 Apr 2026

One Billion Rising Eswatini and Journey of Hope for Girls and Women in Eswatini have presented a study on the intersecting burdens of GBV, unintended pregnancy and post-abortion care in the country.

This report is not merely a collection of data points; it is a mirror reflecting the lived realities of thousands of young women and girls across our kingdom who navigate a landscape of intersecting vulnerabilities everyday.

Continued: https://www.pressreader.com/eswatini/eswatini-observer-9zb3/20260422/281917369666321

22.04.2026

News

gender-based violence

Journey of Hope for Girls and Women in Eswatini

Experts Call for Increased Support for Post-Abortion Care in Northern Uganda

Patrick Uma
March 29, 2026

Health experts have called on government and stakeholders to strengthen support for post-abortion care (PAC) services, citing rising cases of unsafe abortions that continue to endanger the lives of women and young girls in Northern Uganda.

Dr. Francis Pebalo-Pebolo, a Senior Gynecologist and lecturer at Gulu University School of Medicine, made the appeal while speaking to journalists during a Health Café organized by the Health Journalists Network Uganda.

He expressed concern that many women and girls resort to unsafe abortion methods, often leading to severe complications.

Continued: https://chimpreports.com/experts-call-for-increased-support-for-post-abortion-care-in-northern-uganda/

29.03.2026

News

Alice Adongpiny

Alimocan Cinderella

Dr. Francis Pebalo-Pebolo

Health Journalists Network Uganda

Filipinas seek abortions online in largely Catholic nation

16 Mar 2026
AFP

MANILA - Jane had been bleeding heavily for days before finally seeking help, not from a hospital but from the man who sold her the pills meant to end her six-week pregnancy.

Abortions are strictly outlawed in the mainly Catholic Philippines, forcing women to turn to a patchwork of providers operating in the online shadows.

Continued; https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/3217783/filipinas-seek-abortions-online-in-largely-catholic-nation

Fragile and conflict-affected settings: post-abortion care generally satisfactory, but communication needs to be improved

Quality of care is not enough without dialogue with women.

19 January 2026

The AMoCo* study continues to highlight persistent challenges related to abortion care and complications in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Conducted in two hospitals in Bangui (Central African Republic) and Jigawa State (Nigeria), it reveals that a significant proportion of patients seeking post-abortion care experienced poor communication with healthcare staff and mixed experiences in terms of respect and dignity. Women with less education and adolescents appear to be particularly vulnerable. This study, which had already revealed that severe post-abortion complications were five to seven times more likely in these two hospitals, demonstrates the importance of listening to women, giving them the opportunity to ask questions, and ensuring their privacy. These elements are essential to ensuring quality care for all women, regardless of their age or level of education.

Continued: https://www.itg.be/en/health-stories/articles/post-abortion-care-fragile-and-conflict-affected-settings

Nigeria – COSWOHI, with AmplifyChange, trains health workers on stigma-free post abortion care

Sade Oguntola
December 18, 2025
With support from Amplify Change, the Committed Soul Women Health Advocacy Africa Initiative (COSWOHI) has trained medical professionals from five local governments in post-abortion care (PAC) and stigma-free care services in an attempt to reduce maternal mortality in Oyo State.

Abidakun Emmanuel, the communication officer for COSWOHI, speaking at the training in Ibadan, said healthcare workers need skills and knowledge to deliver confidential, respectful, non-judgemental and adolescent-sensitive PAC services without stigma.

Continued: https://tribuneonlineng.com/coswohi-with-amplifychange-trains-health-workers-on-stigma-free-post-abortion-care/

18.12.2025