Group Advocates Increased Awareness on Safe Abortion Care to Curb Maternal Mortality

Esther Oluku

A Lagos state based non for profit organisation, Leadership Initiative for Youth Empowerment (LIFE), has called for increased awareness on safe abortion services to curbs cases of maternal mortality in the country.

Speaking during a three-day training hosted by LIFE for health workers in Lagos, Programmes Officer at LIFE, Onyinye Enenwa, stated that lack of awareness of safe abortion care and unsafe practices contributes to maternal deaths.

The training which held from November 25th to November 27th, 2025, garnered healthcare practitioners from across public and private health facilities within the state for three days of intensive learning.

Enenwa explained that unsafe abortion remains one of the highest causes of maternal mortality contributing to between 13 and 20 per cent of maternal deaths.

She noted that stakeholders’ engagement on reproductive health matters and LIFE’s community-level research revealed a high rate of unsafe abortion among females driven by restrictive laws, stigma and lack of access to quality care.

“Abortion in Nigeria remains highly misunderstood. Section 297 of the Criminal Code permits termination of pregnancy if carried out in good faith by a qualified practitioner to preserve a woman’s life. A qualified practitioner here means that the provider must meet certain standards before offering such services.

“Despite these provisions, fear, stigma and lack of clarity have prevented people from seeking adequate care. People still resort to unsafe methods because of shame and because they do not trust that healthcare workers will attend to them without judgment,” she said.

She explained that healthcare workers have a moral and professional duty to prioritise the life of women when health assessments show that continuing with the pregnancy places the life of the mother at risk.

On her part, Communications Officer at Life, Funke Akinmobola, noted that empathy lies at the heart of offering reproductive healthcare services as it is the foundation of trust and understanding between patients and healthcare professionals.

“In a case where the life of a mother is at risk and she comes into the health facility to seek reproductive health service such as an evacuation, showing empathy creates a safe space for the mother and fosters understanding between patients and their healthcare givers,” she said.

A participants at the event, Mrs. Bello Oluwaseun, speaking on the lessons from the training noted that while abortion is a health service, restriction of this service should remain.

“In Nigeria, abortion is allowed only on medical grounds and should be offered to people that need it even at a government registered facility. It should however remain a restricted practice. I believe adequate counseling would go a long way in improving awareness. I also believe in preventive measures such as family planning for couples who already have the required number of children that they seek.

“However in cases of rape where birthing the child would further traumatize the victim, then safe abortion or evacuation is advised,” she said.

Another participant at the event, Temitope Oyedokun, noted that the conversations on the subject of safe abortion should be had to dispel myths and strengthen public knowledge.

“Going through this training has opened my eyes to the challenges women who are in life-threatening situations face in accessing healthcare. There should be allowances where safety of abortion should be considered and I think when the life of a mother is on the edge, it should be considered,” she said.