By The Lagos State Ministry of Health has unveiled new guidelines on safe abortions within the ambit of the laws of the state.
The guidelines are contained in a 40-page policy document, tagged “Lagos State Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications” which was launched at a stakeholders’ engagement on Tuesday.
Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye explained that that the policy document was part of efforts to provide evidence-based data and information for health workers in public and private sectors who have the requisite skills and training necessary to provide safe terminations to reduce preventable deaths.
“In 2011, the Lagos State House of Assembly updated the criminal code, providing for abortion to save the life and protect the physical health of the woman. While physical health is covered under the Lagos legal framework, services conforming to the law have not been available in Lagos State health sector,” he was quoted as saying in a statement from the Ministry.
“This document provides information on relevant laws applicable in Lagos State while providing standards and best practices with regards to legal indications, pre and post procedure care, methods and monitoring. I must state here that this document has undergone wide consultation with relevant technical stakeholders within the legal and health service context in the State.”
Ogboye explained that the process to develop the guidelines began in 2018 with the Safe Engage project led by the Lagos Ministry of Health and involved bodies like the Society for Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Nigeria, with support from Population Reference Bureau.
He added that the advocacy messages on the Safe Engage project focused on two immediate outcomes including ensuring that safe abortion services were available within legal indications in Lagos and domesticating the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, supporting women to terminate a pregnancy caused by rape or incest.
“To guide the implementation, one of the follow up recommendations of the project was the adaptation of the National Standards and Guidelines for Safe Termination of Pregnancy within Legal Indications within the Lagos State context. The Federal Ministry of Health had developed and disseminated the national guidelines on safe termination of pregnancy which highlights the compendium of conditions and circumstances under which termination of pregnancy could be instituted,” he said.
“The guideline was intended to build the capacity of health professionals to identify pregnancies for which legal termination could be instituted. Marie Stopes International in Nigeria in collaboration with the Population Reference Bureau proposed to support the State government to adapt the document.”
