IPAS Nigeria Engage Journalists, Content Creators, Advocacy Groups On Women’s Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights

….Says legalising safe abortion is the key to nipping unsafe abortion in the bud

… Denounces the myths surrounding safe abortion, says there are enormous gains for safe abortion legalisation

IPAS Nigeria Health Foundation has held a media training for Journalists, Content Creators, and advocacy groups on women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.  The training is aimed at creating awareness on empowering women and girls to have bodily autonomy and exercise their sexual and reproductive health rights.

The NGO at the media training told media organizations, advocacy groups, and content creators of the need to raise awareness on the benefits of safe abortion and why it should help to bring about a push in its legalization in the country, even as it asked them to speak loudly on the dangers of unsafe abortions among women and girls in Nigeria.

The Country Director, Dr. Lucky Palmer, while speaking to the trainees at the three-day events held in Keffi, hinted that the need to legalize safe abortion in the country is very beneficial, as this will reduce unsafe abortions, which have been adding to Nigeria’s high maternal mortality and morbidity, an issue that he said is causing a substantial public health problem.

IPAS at the training stated that even though abortion is not legal in the country, the unsafe practice of it is high as such that unsafe abortions are responsible for an estimated 13 percent to 40 percent of all maternal deaths in Nigeria.

IPAS said, “Approximately 1.8million abortions occur annually in Nigeria, with nearly 60percent of these being unsafe.

“These procedures, performed by untrained individuals or under dangerous conditions, lead to severe complications, lifelong disability, and death.”

Meanwhile, in his remarks, Dr. Palmer said that, notwithstanding abortion being legally restricted and permitted only to save a woman’s life in terms of the pregnancy being injurious to her he, the practice of unsafe abortion in Nigeria has remained highly practiced by women in the country, and this is carried out in unsafe conditions by untrained providers and quacks as well as those women that self-carried out on their own.

He further stated that, “Legal and policy barriers, limited access to safe abortion services, social stigma, inadequate reproductive health education and pervasive social stigma drive many women to seek unsafe abortions.

“In the last 25 years, Ipas has generated evidence showing the urgent need to save women’s life and crash maternal mortality.”

Speaking further on the activities of Ipas in Nigeria, Palmer said: “IPAS Nigeria Health Foundation works to empower women and girls to have bodily autonomy and exercise their sexual and reproductive health rights.

“As partners for reproductive justice, Ipas builds collective action that transforms societies to enable women, girls, and vulnerable persons to manage their fertility and realise their full potential.

“One of our primary goals in Ipas is to reduce maternal mortality from one of the most prevalent contributors, unsafe abortion.

“Maternal mortality rates in Nigeria have surged from 576 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015 to 1,047 per 100,000.

“Nigeria already contributes to 20% of global maternal deaths, with 1.6 million unsafe abortions annually.

“We also know that the rising cases of unwanted pregnancies is as a result of low contraception prevalence rates, only 12% of women of reproductive age using modern family planning methods.

“Misinformation about sexual and reproductive health and rights from society, including the media, creates significant challenges in public awareness and knowledge in addressing this public health issue.”

According to IPAS, as partners for reproductive justice, it has built collective action that transformed societies to enable women, girls, and vulnerable persons to manage their fertility and realize their full potential.

A facilitator at the media training, Dr. Talemoh Dah, while speaking on “How unsafe abortion fuels maternal mortality in Nigeria,” hinted that women engage in unsafe abortion due to restrictive abortion laws and policies, ignorance of the law, limited geographical access, attitude of health professionals, financial constraints, and stigma.

According to Dah, he highlighted the need for women to have access to education, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services, as he called for the review of existing policies that negatively affect women and adolescents.

Moreso, Barrister Emmanuella Azu, another IPAS facilitator in the event, tallied numerous laws and policies that support women’s health.

According to her, the Maputo Protocol, Nigerian Criminal and Penal Codes, Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act as well as National Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications, all have provisions that make saving a woman’s life a precedence.

On the Maputo Protocol, Barr Azu said Nigeria is a signatory to it and has ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.

While citing Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol which grants women extensive Health and Reproductive Rights, mandating states to ensure access to quality healthcare, family planning, and critically, medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, or health risks (physical/mental) to the mother or fetus, alongside rights to fertility control, information (like HIV status), and counseling. It obligates governments to provide accessible services and protect women’s right to make decisions about their bodies, countering harmful traditions.

She explained that countries in Africa are called to protect women’s reproductive rights by allowing medical abortion in cases of sexual assault, rape, incest, and situations where the pregnancy threatens the health or life of the woman or the fetus.

The Article 14 is crucial for empowering women by recognizing their autonomy over their bodies and health, pushing for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, and challenging laws that criminalize safe abortion, as highlighted in cases like Nigeria’s ongoing legal battles to align with the Protocol.

Participants at the three-day media training agreed that unsafe abortion is a public health crisis that needs instant consideration from the government, policy-makers, key stakeholders, civil society organisations, and the media, among others if the issue of unsafe abortion will be curbed.