Stakeholders, including medical doctors, lawyers, gynaecologists, and policymakers, have called for more pragmatic measures—such as increased awareness, stronger legal frameworks, and improved access to reproductive health services—to tackle unsafe abortions and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV).
The call was made in Abeokuta at a high-level roundtable meeting on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights progress in Ogun State.
Founder of the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, stressed that GBV remains widespread across Nigeria.
She said, “Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, second only to India, and a significant portion is due to unsafe abortion practices.
“The aim of today’s programme is to save lives and protect women and girls from unnecessary deaths. We appeal to policymakers and the government to take concrete steps. Ogun State has passed guidelines, and we hope they will be effective.”
She noted that the guidelines also address cases of rape, incest, and medical conditions such as cancer or diabetes that can pose dangers during pregnancy.
Representing the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Permanent Secretary Mrs Adejumoke Adewole said the state had adopted the STOP policy to provide a legal framework for safe termination services.
She stated, “We need to escalate awareness and secure legislative backing for the STOP policy to give it legal status and better protect women and girls, especially in rape and incest cases.”
The Senior Gender Equality Adviser at the Centre for Reproductive Rights, Nairobi, Kenya, Caroline Wambue, praised Ogun State for interpreting national law to establish the STOP Guidelines and urged other Nigerian states to follow suit.
A gynaecologist, Dr Olonode Luqman, highlighted that unsafe abortion contributes to about 13% of maternal deaths in Nigeria. He emphasised the need for better information dissemination and urged people to use health insurance schemes for safer medical care.
