Advocacy for reform of the abortion law in Nigeria

Safe abortion services are only legal in Nigeria to Save the life of the woman. Widespread incidence of unsafe induced abortions often results in death or irreparable harm to women. The Campaign Against Unwanted Pregnancy (CAUP) was launched on 17 August 1991 to address this public health crisis through advocacy for reform of the abortion low, research, education and preparation of service providers, and development of a constituency to support provision of safe abortion to the full extent of the low. CAUP commissioned on evaluation in 2004 to examine and analyse the work of the campaign during its 14 years of existence, which included a review of documents, a participatory learning workshop with CAUP, and almost 50 interviews with different stakeholders. This article, adopted from the evaluation report tells how CAUP took a taboo topic and, in the midst of on extremely complex political and cultural environment, mode it a legitimate subject for public discussion and debate. The Campaign undertook groundbreaking research on abortion in Nigeria. Service providers are being trained to provide, to the full extent of the low, safe abortions and post-abortion care, and advocacy efforts are continuing to lay the groundwork for improving the abortion low. (c) 2004 Reproductive Health Matters. All rights reserved.