As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to observe the World Contraception Day, experts have called for urgent action on unwanted and underage pregnancies to check the rising rate of unsafe abortion in the country.
They​ gave the warning in a statement jointly issued on Wednesday.
The Programme Director of Development Communications Network (Devcoms), Akin Jimoh, noted that the majority of young people in Nigeria are not empowered with quality information to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.

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The Federal Government’s target of reducing the high maternal and infant mortality rate by achieving a 27 percent modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) by 2020 remains a daunting task as the year winds down.
Meanwhile, the country’s maternal mortality remains one of the highest in the world with 576 deaths per 100,000 live births according to Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS, 2013).

More women and their children are surviving today than ever before, according to new child and maternal mortality estimates released today by United Nations groups led by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Since 2000, child deaths have reduced by nearly half and maternal deaths by over one-third, mostly due to improved access to affordable, quality health services.

Lagos – An NGO, Sebeccly Cancer Care, has urged the Lagos State Government to incorporate breast and cervical cancer screening into its Maternal and Primary Healthcare programme.
Dr Okeke Awela, the care Team Lead, made the call on the sidelines of a training for primary healthcare medical personnel in Lagos.
Awela said research had found cancer to be the second most common cause of death globally in 2017
According to her, early detection and treatment of cervical cancer will increase the numbers of survivors.