Africa – Who Pays the Price When Abortion Is Unsafe? NFM X Space Examines the Cost of Access

Cynthia Velle
October 2, 2026

On September 28, 2026, Naija Feminists Media (NFM) marked International Safe Abortion Day with an X Space titled “Who Pays the Price When Abortion Is Unsafe?” bringing together speakers from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya to examine the realities of abortion access, the consequences of unsafe abortion and the wider impact of reproductive healthcare restrictions on women and girls.

The one-hour conversation brought together over 30 listeners, and the conversation featured Oluwatoyin Magbagbeola, founder and CEO of Femrivied; Sherifa Awudu, a sexual and reproductive health and rights expert and researcher; Wakesho Langali, a Kenyan SRHR advocate, feminist activist and communications practitioner with Positive Young Women Voices; and Diana Mushiyi, a Kenyan human rights advocate, activist and emerging researcher. Omotuemen Favour, founder of the Save the Girl Child Initiative, was also invited but could not join the conversation.

Continued: https://naijafeministsmedia.org.ng/who-pays-the-price-when-abortion-is-unsafe-nfm-x-space-examines-the-cost-of-access/

KENYA – Rights groups urge government to decriminalise safe abortion

By KNA
September 30, 2026

Reproductive Health Human Rights Lobby Groups in Nakuru have petitioned the government to decriminalise safe abortion in Kenya, citing rising numbers of unsafe procedures and maternal deaths.

The civil society organisations, including the Reproductive Health Champions Organisation (RHCO), the Nakuru Reproductive Health Network (NRHN), and the Hope in Life Society (HILS), made the call during this year’s International Safe Abortion Day on Monday.

Continued: https://www.kbc.co.ke/rights-groups-urge-government-to-decriminalise-safe-abortion/

Uganda – New health guidelines seek to protect doctors treating unsafe abortion complications

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

By Anthony Wesaka

Dr Denis Kibira of Dumaic Global Health presented two recent studies examining the availability of sexual and reproductive health commodities across sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ministry of Health has urged medical practitioners across the country not to shy away from providing emergency care to women suffering from post-abortion complications, reassuring them that new national guidelines protect them from legal harassment and wrongful arrest.

Continued: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/new-health-guidelines-seek-to-protect-doctors-treating-unsafe-abortion-complications-5613444

29.09.2026

National Safe Motherhood conference

Statement by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Occasion of International Safe Abortion Day

Sep 28, 2026

Banjul, The Gambia– On the occasion of International Safe Abortion Day, observed globally on 28 September, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) underscores the critical and urgent message of the 2026 theme: “Solidarity in Action: Advance Reproductive Justice and Urgently Strengthen Health Systems for Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC)!”

Across our continent, unsafe abortion remains a devastating public health crisis and a grave violation of fundamental human rights, deeply compounded by ongoing socio-economic, humanitarian, and environmental emergencies. True reproductive justice, as envisioned by the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo Protocol), requires more than just legal frameworks; it demands robust, resilient health systems.

Continued: https://achpr.au.int/en/news/press-releases/2026-09-28/statement-african-commission-human-and-peoples-rights-occasion

28.09.2026

Commentary

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Comprehensive Abortion Care

decriminalisation of abortion

International Safe Abortion Day

Joint civil society organisations statement on International Safe Abortion Day 2026: Safe abortion is essential healthcare: A call to action

Sep 28, 2026

We join women, girls, and human rights defenders across Africa and the globe on this 28th day of September to commemorate the 2026 International Safe Abortion Day, reaffirming a simple truth: safe abortion is essential healthcare.

We are reminded of the transformative power of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), which is lauded as one of the most progressive and comprehensive legal instruments for the promotion and protection of women’s rights globally, particularly in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Adopted in 2003 by the African Union, the Protocol goes beyond existing international human rights standards by explicitly articulating a wide array of SRHR protections that are often left ambiguous or unstated in other international and regional human rights instruments.

Continued: https://equalitynow.org/news/news-and-insights/joint-civil-society-organisations-statement-on-international-safe-abortion-day-2026-safe-abortion-is-essential-healthcare-a-call-to-action/

28.09.2026

Commentary

International Safe Abortion Day

Maputo Protocol

maternal deaths

Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa

sexual and reproductive health and rights

Nigeria – Reform abortion laws to save women’s lives, group urges FG

September 28, 2026
By Chima Azubuike

The Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre has called for urgent reform of Nigeria’s abortion laws, saying criminalisation contributes to unsafe abortion and preventable maternal deaths.

WARDC made the call on Monday in a statement released to commemorate the 2026 International Safe Abortion Day, with the theme, “Solidarity in Action: Advance Reproductive Justice and Urgently Strengthen Health Systems for Comprehensive Abortion Care.”

The organisation said Nigeria could not effectively reduce maternal mortality while unsafe abortion remained a preventable cause of death and serious injury among women and girls.

Continued: https://punchng.com/reform-abortion-laws-to-save-womens-lives-group-urges-fg/

28.09.2026

News

Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi

abortion law reform

International Safe Abortion Day

maternal mortality

Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre

“I lost a friend following an unsafe abortion in Malawi”

Towera Ngwira on the barriers to healthcare women are facing

28 September 2026
Amnesty International

Towera Ngwira, 29, is a women’s rights activist from Malawi, who is focused on empowering adolescent girls and young women to access quality education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.

In this piece, she shares the barriers girls and young women face when it comes to healthcare and why it’s essential they’re aware of their rights…

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2026/09/i-lost-a-friend-following-an-unsafe-abortion-in-malawi/

28.09.2026

Commentary

Amnesty International

Extra Mile Development Foundation

Nepal – ‘Safe abortion imperative to protect women’s life’

Raman Paudel
Mon, 28 September 2026

Kathmandu: When Sunita Adhikari from Duradanda, Lamjung, was approximately 30 weeks pregnant, she traveled to Kathmandu for an ultrasound to check on her baby’s condition in the womb.

However, the information she received from the radiologist brought deep sorrow rather than joy or excitement; the ultrasound detected a heart defect in the fetus. Doctors also informed her that the baby had not developed physically as expected.

Continued: https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/87107

28.09.2026

Commentary

Dr. Balkrishna Sah

Dr. Gobinda Sharan Upadhyay

Nisha Mehta

Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act

ASIA – Putting rights, choices and investment at the heart of bodily autonomy and sexual health

Shobha Shukla
Sept 27, 2026

Bodily autonomy and sexual health are often framed as matters of individual health, personal choice and human rights. But the latest evidence from the Adding It Up 2024 report by Guttmacher Institute shows that meeting sexual and reproductive health needs is not merely a health expenditure—it is a smart investment that can save lives, reduce unintended pregnancies and generate significant economic returns.

Main findings of this report that were presented by Dr Elizabeth A Sully, Guttmacher Institute’s Director of International Research, during a SHE & Rights session organised ahead of World Contraception Day and International Safe Abortion Day, examine the need, impact, and cost of investing in sexual and reproductive healthcare across 128 low- and middle-income countries: 36 countries from Asia, 53 countries from Africa, 23 countries from Latin America and Caribbean and 8 countries each from Europe and Oceania regions.

Continued; https://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=features.Spotlight_On_Women.Putting_rights_bodily_autonomy_sexual_health_By_Shobha_Shukla

27.09.2026

Adding It Up

Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women

Dr Elizabeth A Sully

Family Planning Investment Impact Calculator

Guttmacher Institute

International Safe Abortion Day

Riju Dhakal

SHE & Rights

World Contraception Day

Nepal – Floods threaten access to contraception in Rasuwa

Binu Shrestha
Sat, 26 September 2026

Kathmandu: As Nepal marks the 12th National Safe Abortion Service Day on September 26 and International Safe Abortion Day on September 28, concerns are growing over access to contraception and sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls affected by the recent floods in Rasuwa.

National Safe Abortion Day is observed to raise awareness of women’s legal right to safe abortion, access to quality reproductive health services, and the importance of preventing unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/87042

26.09.2026