The Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) has emphasized the need for Nigeria to strengthen its health systems, laws, and access to care for women and girls, particularly in the area of safe abortion. As Nigeria joins the world to mark the International Safe Abortion Day on September 28, WARDC warned that unsafe abortion procedures continue to pose serious risks to women and girls. The organization called for urgent reform of the country’s restrictive abortion laws, citing the high maternal mortality burden in Nigeria.
According to WARDC, Nigeria cannot effectively tackle its high maternal mortality burden while unsafe abortion remains a significant cause of death and serious injury among women and girls. The organization stated that the 2026 campaign, themed “Solidarity in Action: Advance Reproductive Justice and Urgently Strengthen Health Systems for Comprehensive Abortion Care,” provides an opportunity for Nigeria to confront the human cost of unsafe abortion and strengthen its health system to provide comprehensive reproductive healthcare. Nigeria continues to carry one of the world’s heaviest maternal mortality burdens, with an estimated 1,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023.
WARDC cited a nationally representative study that estimated about 1.25 million abortions occurred in Nigeria in 2012, with approximately 212,000 women treated for complications of unsafe abortion, while another 285,000 experienced serious complications without receiving the treatment they needed. The organization also cited a widely used national estimate of about 6,000 deaths annually from unsafe abortion, but cautioned that the figure remains an estimate, with abortion-related deaths potentially underreported or misclassified.
The organization expressed particular concern over the vulnerability of adolescents, citing UNICEF data which puts Nigeria’s adolescent birth rate at 75 births per 1,000 girls aged 15–19, with adolescent pregnancy significantly higher in rural communities. WARDC said the situation becomes even more troubling where pregnancy results from rape or incest, arguing that survivors should not be exposed to further trauma because of barriers to reproductive healthcare.
WARDC argued that criminalization does not eliminate abortion but can push women and girls who seek to terminate pregnancies into unsafe circumstances, particularly where they cannot obtain timely and appropriate healthcare. The organization called for Nigeria to move from an approach centered primarily on criminalization towards a clear, rights-based and medically regulated framework for safe abortion care.
According to WARDC, reform should clearly establish the circumstances under which abortion is lawful, while protecting confidentiality, informed consent and access to qualified healthcare providers and appropriate facilities. The organization urged the Federal Government, National Assembly, state governments and other stakeholders to prioritize legal and policy reforms, health-system investment and accurate public information on abortion and reproductive health.
WARDC’s executive chairperson, Associate Professor Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, emphasized that Nigeria needed to confront the consequences of unsafe abortion as part of its broader response to maternal mortality. The organization’s position comes amid continuing debate over Nigeria’s abortion laws and the wider question of how the country can balance its existing legal framework with public-health concerns, women’s reproductive rights and the protection of girls who become pregnant through sexual violence.
Key points
- Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of death and serious injury among women and girls in Nigeria.
- Nigeria has one of the world’s heaviest maternal mortality burdens, with an estimated 1,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023.
- WARDC is calling for a clear, rights-based and medically regulated framework for safe abortion care in Nigeria.
