By Wumi Oyehan
Experts in the health sector, on Tuesday, raised concerns over the contribution of unsafe abortion to maternal deaths, warning that inadequate access to reproductive health information and services, coupled with restrictive laws and stigma, continues to put women’s lives at risk.
This was agreed at a one-day training on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), media and storytelling lab 2026, organised by Media Health and Rights (MHR) in Abuja.
Among those who spoke at the occasion include Dr Chisa Ugboaja, MSI Reproductive Choices Nigeria, Bamidele Jacob, Legal Adviser, Lawyers Alert, and Chibuike Utaka, Head of Communication, MSI Reproductive Choices Nigeria, Azege Alu, Executive Director, MHR.
They called on the Federal Government to strengthen reproductive health policies, improve access to comprehensive sexuality education and safe reproductive health services, and review existing laws to address gaps that contribute to preventable maternal deaths.
The experts stressed the need for coordinated action among government agencies, healthcare professionals, civil society organisations and the media to reduce unsafe abortion and protect women’s health and lives.
Ugboaja, in her presentation, lamented that it is already sad that Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, but the discovery that 10 per cent of such deaths is associated with unsafe abortion, it is unacceptable.
She said, “Maternal mortality has several major causes in Nigeria, including postpartum haemorrhage, clampsia, brain clampsia, there’s all this hypertension in pregnancy, other things. But one of the major causes, one of the six major causes of maternal mortality in Nigeria is unsafe abortion. And that is not under any dispute.
”Some people say say 10 per cent (1.5 million) , but somewhere around there we have that being a cause of maternal mortality. And we know that maternal mortality in Nigeria already is high. But just like I said, about 10 per cent of maternal mortality is caused by unsafe abortion.
”And unsafe abortion, we have already described this, is when you have a termination of pregnancy by an unskilled hand, with maybe an obsolete method or a method that is not approved, in an unsafe environment or inadequate environment. That is an unsafe abortion. So, when you have that happening, it puts a lot of things on the line.”
Utaka, in his address, said religious and traditional leaders have a huge role to play in terms of SRH.
”But one thing that is constant is that nobody wants a woman to die giving birth. Currently, there’s a report that every 24 women walking on the streets have the potential of being pregnant, one of them will not make it alive,” he said.
The Azege, in her presentation said media practitioners in their reporting should be careful of the language used, not to stimatise l, protect privacy and should not be judgemental.
”Don’t use the wrong narratives about SRH. In matters of SRH, safeguarding and privacy are none negotiating. As a media practitioner, when you speak to people with livid experiences, be careful how you interview them, don’t push and ensure you empathise with them,” she added.