The consensus of stakeholders is that the government’s efforts to ensure safe termination of pregnancies in Nigeria should be collaborative and intentional to safeguard young people’s lives from the consequences of unsafe abortion.
The project director for Vision Spring Initiatives, Mrs Ngozi Nwosu-Juba, speaking at the opening of a 2-day summit in Oyo State on “Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Young Women in Nigeria”, said statistics show that young people are dying in their numbers and also facing challenges from unsafe abortion.
According to her, each state needs to have a stop termination of pregnancy guideline or also push for laws that support, in line with the rights of women and girls, their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
“As it stands now, Oyo State is the only state that doesn’t have a safe termination of pregnancy guideline. And that’s worrisome because we have statistics that show that young people are dying in their numbers and also facing challenges from unsafe abortion.
“Our call is that they become more intentional and work collaboratively, just like other states are doing on the safe termination of pregnancy guideline. It’s supposed to safeguard young people’s lives. They should take ownership of the well-being of women and girls in the state.”
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Mrs Oluwaremilekun Atolagbe, an adolescent health officer and also a safe motherhood officer in the Ogun State Primary Health Care Board, said the improved coordination of activities to ensure safe termination of pregnancy should include monitoring of patent medicine vendors.
According to her, a large proportion of Nigerians are adolescents, and being sensitive in communicating issues about safe termination of pregnancy is vital.
Atolagbe stated, “You cannot talk to an adolescent about family planning. The adolescent will tell you, I don’t have a family yet. So adolescents will not listen to you. The same is the word abortion. When you hear it, you think it’s a criminal word, although it’s a medical word.
“So, in our setting, we try as much as possible to avoid that. We want to save the lives of our women and girls. We prefer saying safe termination of pregnancy. And that has helped you to have a leeway everywhere in ensuring that they have better access now.”
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