On October 1, 2025, Nigeria’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to tackling one of the country’s most persistent public health crises: maternal mortality, driven in large part by unsafe abortion. Speaking at the International Safe Abortion Conference in Abuja, organized by Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation to mark International Safe Abortion Day, Prof. Pate—represented by Robert M. Daniel, Director of the Family Health Department—didn’t mince words. He cited World Health Organisation (WHO) figures showing that approximately 456,000 unsafe abortions take place annually in Nigeria, emphasizing, “Almost every death and injury that results from unsafe abortion could be prevented by effective contraception, the provision of safe abortion, and timely post-abortion care.”
This message echoed far beyond the conference room. According to BBC, unsafe abortion is not just a Nigerian problem but a global one, with an estimated 45 percent of all abortions worldwide classified as unsafe. The vast majority of these occur in developing countries, where restrictive laws and social stigma make access to safe services nearly impossible. For Nigeria, the stakes are especially high: the country contributes nearly 20 percent of global maternal mortality, and unsafe abortion is a leading cause of preventable maternal deaths, accounting for 10–13 percent of such fatalities, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The legal landscape in Nigeria is, by many accounts, unforgiving. Under the Criminal Code in the South and the Penal Code in the North, abortion is allowed only to save the life of the pregnant woman. In all other circumstances—including rape, incest, or severe fetal abnormality—it is criminalized, putting both women and healthcare providers at risk of imprisonment. As Women News Today reports, this legal rigidity translates to tragedy: studies estimate 1.25 million abortions occur annually in Nigeria, with more than half considered unsafe. Women, often desperate, turn to untrained providers or dangerous self-induced methods, resulting in complications like severe bleeding, infection, infertility, and, all too often, death.
Behind these statistics are countless human stories. Dr. Moriam Olaide Jagu, Chairperson of the Ipas Nigeria Board, highlighted the need for sustained training, mentorship, and—crucially—legal protection for health workers. “Health workers must not only be skilled but also confident and legally protected to provide post-abortion care and safe termination of pregnancy services within the law,” she stated. The call for reform was further amplified by Lucky Palmer, Ipas Nigeria’s Country Director, who urged lawmakers to revisit the country’s restrictive abortion laws, which he said “continue to cost women and girls their lives.”
International Safe Abortion Day, observed globally every September 28, is rooted in the 1990 Latin American and Caribbean Campaña 28 de Septiembre. It has grown into a worldwide movement, now marked in over 60 countries. The day serves as a reminder that the right to safe abortion is not simply a matter of personal choice, but a critical issue of public health, human rights, and social justice. For Nigeria, the day brings an urgent question to the fore: will the country honor its international commitments to protect women’s health and lives, or allow preventable deaths to continue?
Nigeria is a signatory to several international treaties that recognize reproductive rights as human rights. These include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified in 1985; the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1983); and the Maputo Protocol (ratified in 2004), which explicitly requires states to provide abortion in cases of rape, incest, sexual assault, or when the pregnancy endangers the health or life of the mother or fetus. Despite these obligations, implementation has lagged, hampered by political will, stigma, and inconsistent state-level adoption of policies.
Some states, however, are leading the way. Jigawa and Gombe have adopted the Safe Termination of Pregnancy (STOP) Guidelines, a technical policy document developed to standardize and regulate abortion services in line with national and international standards. According to Women News Today, Jigawa has trained over 600 providers in adolescent and reproductive health, approved N80 million for reproductive health commodities, recruited more than 550 midwives, and domesticated the Adolescent Health and Youth Development Policy since 2022. Yusuf Bashir, Director of Planning at the Jigawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said, “At the Jigawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, we remain fully committed to the implementation of the Safe Termination of Pregnancy Guidelines. Our goal is to ensure that every woman and adolescent girl has access to safe, dignified, and non-discriminatory healthcare services when in need.”
Gombe State’s approach is similarly people-centered. Barrister Naomi Abdu, representing the Commissioner of Justice, recounted harrowing stories to underscore the urgency: “I recall the case of a teenage girl, raped by her own father and brother, who became pregnant and was already in her third trimester before help came. It was too late, and her life was put in grave danger. I also remember another young girl whose life was saved because she could access termination services early. These experiences make it clear: denying women and girls safe, timely access only worsens their trauma and risks their lives.” Dr. Maryam Abubakar, Director of Gombe State PHC, added, “Stories like these are painful reminders that unsafe abortions are still claiming lives, not because solutions don’t exist, but because stigma, ignorance, and lack of clear access block women and girls from getting the care they need. This is why I strongly commit to the full implementation of the STOP Guidelines.”
Yet, not all states are on board. Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and a healthcare hub, suspended the rollout of the STOP Guidelines in 2022 after opposition from conservative and religious groups. Advocates argue that politics and ideology are being placed above the health and lives of women and girls. Lifting the ban, they say, would not only save thousands of lives but also set a precedent for other states.
The struggle for safe abortion access is not limited to Nigeria. In the United States, a recent report from the New Orleans Health Department found that Louisiana’s anti-abortion law classifying the common pregnancy medication misoprostol as a controlled substance is endangering women’s health. The law, known as Act 246, has led to delays in accessing misoprostol for abortion, miscarriage management, cancer treatment, and more. The report documented cases such as a woman hemorrhaging after birth who waited 10 minutes for the medication, and another who bled after an emergency cesarean section while waiting for access. Some pharmacists refused to fill prescriptions even for legal uses, citing confusion over the law and Roe v. Wade. Louisiana Right to Life and state officials defended the law, denying it interferes with legal healthcare, but the Guttmacher Institute warned that it “sets a dangerous precedent that has harmed patients needing miscarriage management and emergency care.”
As the world marks International Safe Abortion Day, Nigeria and other countries stand at a crossroads. The path forward demands courage, leadership, and a recognition that women’s lives are not negotiable. The examples of Jigawa and Gombe offer hope, but the urgency remains: no woman should have to die for lack of safe healthcare.
