Safe termination of pregnancies should be intentional, collaborative — Stakeholders

Sade Oguntola
June 26, 2025

The consensus of stakeholders is that the government’s efforts to ensure safe termination of pregnancies in Nigeria should be collaborative and intentional to safeguard young people’s lives from the consequences of unsafe abortion.

The project director for Vision Spring Initiatives, Mrs Ngozi Nwosu-Juba, speaking at the opening of a 2-day summit in Oyo State on “Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young Women in Nigeria”, said statistics show that young people are dying in their numbers and also facing challenges from unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://tribuneonlineng.com/safe-termination-of-pregnancies-should-be-intentional-collaborative-stakeholders/#google_vignette

27.06.2025

News

Ngozi Nwosu-Juba

Oluwaremilekun Atolagbe

safe abortion

Vision Spring Initiatives

DRC – Stakeholder perceptions of midwife-led, woman-centered comprehensive abortion care in Kinshasa

Habygaelle Muzie, Communications Advisor, Ipas DRC
December 5, 2024

We are delighted to announce the publication of a scientific paper developed by Ipas Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in collaboration with the Professional Association of Congolese Midwives (SCOSAF) and Karolinska Institute, with funding from SIDA.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), morbidity and mortality resulting from unsafe abortions are alarmingly high. However, the recent ratification of the Maputo Protocol in 2018 has made safe abortion accessible. National implementation strategies recognize midwives as providers of comprehensive abortion care (CAC), yet there is little understanding of their current role in its provision.

Continued: https://www.ipas.org/news/stakeholder-perceptions-of-midwife-led-woman-centered-comprehensive-abortion-care/

05.12.2024

midwives and abortion

Professional Association of Congolese Midwives

safe abortion

SCOSAF

Africa

Democratic Republic of Congo

Kenya – Laws will save women and girls

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

What you need to know:
The cost of treating unsafe abortion is high.

Safe abortion does not cause long mental health consequences but on the contrary, there is a feeling of relief than regret, but forced abortion can lead to long-term distress.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/letters/laws-will-save-women-and-girls-4794978#google_vignette

15.10.2024

We Need to Talk More About Abortion Care in India

Gurpriya Singh, Nivarana
Oct 07, 2024

Five billion people around the world are unable to get surgery when they need it. Surgery covers a wide range of diseases and populations. Access to obstetric surgeries has helped in reducing maternal mortality and improve the health of women globally. Yet, people in many low- and middle-income countries, including India, cannot access many components of emergency and essential obstetric and gynaecological care. Access to safe abortion is one such aspect that is also a major public health concern in India. In 2015, India witnessed 2.2 million (14%) surgical abortions. However, nearly 800,000 abortions were carried out using unsafe methods. This clearly highlights that despite progressive laws, unsafe abortions are still performed in India.

Continued: https://m.thewire.in/article/health/abortion-health-women-social-issue-contraceptives/amp

Safe abortion in Tanzania: A call for change

Esther Kassanga
Oct 6, 2024

SAFE abortion is not commonly accepted in Tanzanian society, where many cultural norms oppose it. However, have you ever considered the plight of women who become pregnant due to rape? Do they want to carry those pregnancies to term?

Across our communities, various scenarios underscore the urgent need for laws that allow victims, or any woman unable to carry a pregnancy to term, to access safe abortion services without facing judgment or misunderstanding.

Tragically, many deaths in our communities stem from unsafe abortions, often performed by women who are denied access to proper healthcare facilities.

Continued: https://dailynews.co.tz/safe-abortion-in-tanzania-a-call-for-change/

5 reasons why abortion is health care

Access to safe abortion care has a real impact on people’s lives and health, from preventing unsafe abortions and complications to upholding bodily autonomy.

September 26, 2024

At Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), we consider safe abortion care a critical part of our sexual and reproductive health care services—one that can save lives and support the well-being of our patients.

Our teams around the world work in countries with varying laws and cultural views on abortion. Every day, MSF staff see firsthand how access to safe abortion care has a real impact on people’s lives and health. Anyone who seeks an abortion—no matter their reason—is deserving of high-quality and dignified care. When patients can access safe abortion care in their communities, the risk of complications related to unsafely induced abortion significantly decreases. There are instances in which safe abortion care is medically necessary to preserve an individual’s health and well-being, or even save their life. As health providers, MSF is committed to upholding medical ethics and person-centered care, which includes access to safe abortion.

Continued: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/5-reasons-why-abortion-health-care

26.09.2024

Commentary

bodily autonomy

complications of unsafe abortion

decriminalization of abortion

Doctors Without Borders

Dr. Rasha Khoury

Médecins Sans Frontières

safe abortion

self-managed abortion

World Health Organization

Nigeria – Maternal Mortality: Osun Unveils Policy On Safe Abortion

Written by Joshua Dada
Dec 15, 2023

Osun State government has unveiled a “policy document on safe termination of pregnancy and its legal indications” in the state. Representing the state government at the event, the special adviser on public health to the governor, Dr Akindele Adekunle, said the document is aimed at improving healthcare delivery services in the state, especially as it concerns the mother and child healthcare challenges.

“Nigeria is now ranked as having the second largest burden of maternal mortality in the world, after India. Most of these deaths are of known causes and are preventable. As Nigeria aligns with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) efforts at eliminating all preventable maternal deaths by 2030, every effort must henceforth be made to identify and prevent every prevalent preventable cause of maternal deaths.

Continued: https://leadership.ng/maternal-mortality-osun-unveils-policy-on-safe-abortion/

15.12.2023

MSI Reproductive Choices

safe abortion

Sustainable Development Goals

Indonesia – Safe abortion crucial for women’s reproductive health

STEVIE EMILIA, THE JAKARTA POST
Jakarta / Tue, September 29, 2020

Abortion – safe or unsafe, legal or illegal – has existed throughout history. Yet, it continues to be the most sensitive and controversial issue in reproductive health.

The WHO has disclosed that an average of 73.3 million – safe and unsafe – abortions took place worldwide per year between 2015 and 2019, with the rate of abortions being higher in developing regions than in developed ones.

Continued: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/09/29/safe-abortion-crucial-for-womens-reproductive-health.html

Ghana – Reducing Unsafe Abortions, The Need For A More Comprehensive Services And Care For Women

By Afedzi Abdullah
09/09/2020

Despite Ghana having relatively liberal laws on abortion, the procedure continues to be highly stigmatised, and as a result, many abortions are done illegally.

Consequently, the country is lacking accurate data on abortion incidence and unintended pregnancies which are very essential to planning reproductive health services.

Continued: https://www.modernghana.com/news/1028434/reducing-unsafe-abortions-the-need-for-a-more.html

Does Having An Abortion Affect Your Fertility?

Alice Broster, Forbes
Sep 2, 2020

Abortions are recognized as a human right by the World Health Organisation as a person has the right to “decide freely and responsibly without coercion and violence the number, spacing and timing of their children.” However, a lot of misinformation and misconceptions are attached to abortions and future pregnancies. So, does having an abortion affect your fertility? This is such a relevant question as people seek out abortion procedures for a multitude of reasons with the intention of having a family in the future. Myths like this only attach stigma and prevent people from accessing information and treatment.

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that between 2015 and 2019 there were 121 million unintended pregnancies each year globally. Of those unintended pregnancies, 61% ended in abortion. When you’re considering having an abortion it’s totally natural that you’d think about your fertility in the long run. And the short explanation is that there’s no evidence that would suggest that either a medical or surgical abortion causes infertility when done in a safe setting.

Continued: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicebroster/2020/09/02/does-having-an-abortion-affect-your-fertility/#1af946ac5ef6