Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has identified unsafe abortions as one of the factors contributing to the high maternal mortality rate in Nigeria.
The organisation said the country is faced with high incidences of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), which sometimes results in unwanted pregnancies, leading to unsafe abortions.
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The Country Director, Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation, Lucky Palmer, said the organisation would continue to support efforts aimed at ensuring reproductive justice and the well-being of women and girls in Nigeria.
Palmer said Ipas remains committed to providing unhindered access to contraceptives and ending unsafe abortions, as well as stopping SGBV in the country.
The theme of the African Women’s Day for this year was ‘Towards the African Women’s Decade: Realising Women’s Human Capital through accelerated social and economic development, addressing the scourge of violence, food insecurity and good nutrition on the African Continent’.
Palmer said the theme resonates with Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation’s goal of ensuring that every woman and girl on the African Continent, has the right to their bodily autonomy free from all forms of violence and discrimination.
According to him, “Nigeria is a signatory to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol), a framework which is indigenous to the African people and specifically provides for the bodily autonomy of women and girls across Africa.
“Women with well-spaced children can support family livelihood, which enhances household food security.
“Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation is committed to ending unsafe abortions, SGBV and providing unhindered access to contraceptives, putting us at the forefront as advocates for reproductive justice.
“Through our work at the national and state levels, we advocate for policies and law reforms that promote women’s rights and challenge harmful social norms in the communities that act as barriers to women and girls’ access to comprehensive sexual reproductive health services.
“We call on the government in Nigeria, and across Africa, to prioritize the lives and well-being of women and girls.
“We believe that domesticating the Maputo Protocol will ensure that all barriers inhibiting women and girls in Nigeria from exercising their rights to bodily autonomy are removed.”