By Ikenna Nwokedi 

Stakeholders in the medical field of Obstetrics and Gynaecology on Monday converged at the FCT Abuja for the launching of the Nigeria Best Practice Paper (BPP) on Post-Abortion care.

The one-day event held on Monday, 21st August 2023 at De Silver Green Luxury Hotel, Abuja witnessed the convergence of scholars in the healthcare profession, officials from the Federal Ministry of Health and medical practitioners across the nation attending the epoch making event.

In his address, a scholar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and the Team Leader BPP/RCOG Making Abortion Safe (MAS) Project, Nigeria, Prof. Joseph Ifeanyi Brian-D Adinma disclosed that unsafe abortion as a foremost contemporary global public health challenge accounted for between 4.7 percent and 13.2 percent of global maternal death.

Prof. JIB Adinma further disclosed that between 2015 and 2019, 128 million unintended pregnancies occurred annually with 73 million ending in abortion of which 35 million were induced. The scholar also highlighted the impact of unsafe abortion practices.

"Twenty-five million unsafe abortions were performed resulting in 39,000 maternal death with 97 percent of unsafe abortion occuring in developing countries especially amongst vulnerable and marginalized population.

"In Nigeria, 1.25 million induced abortions are performed annually representing 33 percent of 1000 women with non-physicians accounting for as high as 60 percent of these abortions while 87 percent were performed in private health facilities as one in every ten women in Nigeria has had an induced abortion," Adinma said.

Prof. Adinma averred that Nigeria best practice paper on post abortion care was developed under the Nigerian Making Abortion Safe (MAS) project which is part of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) Global Initiative to advocate for women's health that will assist healthcare providers with the right information in ensuring safe abortion treatment and services.

The Consultant Gynaecologist emphasized that the Nigeria Best Practice Paper on post abortion care is basically an adaptation of abortion guidelines and documents from notable authoritative institutions such as WHO, NICE, RCOG and Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health. He also informed that the dissemination of the document to end-users will commence and can be assessed both in hard and soft copies.

Adinma thanked that RCOG and the Federal Ministry of Health for their active participation in the adaptation process that led to the evolution of the document and the volunteer Reproductive Healthcare Practitioners who ensured that the project is carried out successfully.

In her remarks, the Director, Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Stella Nwosu asserted that Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortalities globally and the contribution of unsafe abortion is on the increase. Nwosu stated that almost every death and injury that results from unsafe abortion could be prevented by effective contraception, provision of safe abortion and timely care for complication through Post-Abortion Care.

Nwosu informed that while WHO supports national health systems in providing effective contraceptive services, post-abortion care needed to prevent and treat complication to the full extent permitted by the law; Nigeria abortion law is restrictive and encoded in the persons of the criminal and penal codes related to miscarriage. She reassured the gathering that the Federal Ministry of Health is committed to the fight against unsafe abortion and improving the lives of women and girls as directed and advised by the QED Network Global.

Others who spoke at the occasion are Dr. Ibrahim Awowole who made the keynote presentation on the topic: "Making abortion safe in Nigeria: Challenges and workable strategies" and Dr. Sekina Bola Oyebamiji who moderated the panel discussion on the topic: "The role of Global and National Guidelines and Best Practice papers in delivery of quality abortion care."

Highpoints of the occasion was the unveiling and launching of the Nigeria Best Practice paper on post abortion care, comments, suggestions and distribution of BPPs.b