WARDC, Others Seek End to Maternal Deaths from Unsafe Abortions – Decry 500 Deaths Monthly

• At screening of the movie, “To Ba Se Wo”, which was screened on Monday in Lagos.

The Women Advocates and Research Documentation Centre (WARDC) has called for the end of maternal deaths from unsafe abortions.

The organisation also decried societal norms that pressure women with health conditions to carry pregnancies to the detriment of their health.

WARDC made the call during a film screening on Monday in Lagos.

The movie, “To Ba Se Wo”, which translates to “If it were you”, in English, was produced by WARDC.

The movie brings to the fore issues such as; incest, rape, maternal age, health conditions and complications associated with pregnancy, and the challenges women face in accessing safe termination of pregnancies.

The Director Programmes at WARDC, Mrs Mary George-Peluola, said:

“The movie, “To Ba Se Wo”, is borne out of the organisation’s commitment to ensure access to safe reproductive health services, and ending maternal deaths from unsafe abortions.

“Maternal deaths continue to steal far too many lives, and unsafe termination of pregnancies remains one of the major contributors to this silent crisis.

“The film brings to light the deep challenges women face in maternal health care and highlights the urgent need for collective action to address unsafe abortions and their root causes.”

During a panel discussion on the film, the Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo -Olu on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, said thousands of women lose their lives or suffer long-term health complications from unsafe abortions.

Ogunyemi, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Health, Dr Oluwatoni Adeyemi, said some of the causes could be as a result of certain policies or lack of policies.

Ogunyemi said the state had various initiatives, including maternal and child health programmes and family planning programmes among others to address social barriers that affect women.

She pledged to listen to the concerns raised during the panel discussion and ensure that the state governor received feedback.

Dr Moriam Jagun, Executive Director, Centre for Bridging Health Gaps (CBHGaps), said about 6,000 women die in Nigeria annually from unsafe abortions.

Emphasising the numbers, Jagun said 500 deaths monthly from unsafe abortions were not comparable to 500 votes.

“That’s about two big planes crashing every month.

“That’s the number of people that die because of a single abortion,” she said.

Jagun noted that though the criminal code and the Lagos State Guidelines for Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications, allowed the termination of a pregnancy when it’s life threatening for the mother.

Jagun, however said the suspension of the guidelines had created a policy vacuum, which had left people confused on what to do.

“Once the governor places a ban on anything, that means everybody under the governor will not want to touch a woman, even if her life is at risk.

She urged the state government to reinstate the guidelines, so the goal of reducing maternal mortality and also preventing women from seeking unorthodox ways to procure abortion within legal confines, could be achieved.

Also, Dr Modupe Adedeji, a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), said the maternal mortality rate was increasing in spite of the efforts being put in to reduce it.

Adedeji said there was a need to address the restrictive laws to safe termination of pregnancies.