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SummaryThis study used data from a community-based survey to examine women's experiences of abortion in Nigeria. Fourteen per cent of respondents reported that they had ever tried to terminate a pregnancy, and 10% had obtained an abortion. The majority of women who sought an abortion did so early in the pregnancy. Forty-two per cent of women who obtained an abortion used the services of a non-professional provider, a quarter experienced complications and 9% sought treatment for complications from their abortions. Roughly half of the women who obtained an abortion used a method other than D&C or MVA. The abortion prevalence and conditions under which women sought abortions varied by women's socio-demographic characteristics. Because abortion is illegal in Nigeria except to save the woman's life, many women take significant risks to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Reducing the incidence of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion can significantly impact the reproductive health of women in Nigeria.

Abortion is illegal in Rwanda except when necessary to protect a woman's physical health or to save her life. Many women in Rwanda obtain unsafe abortions, and some experience health complications as a result. To estimate the incidence of induced abortion, we conducted a national sample survey of health facilities that provide postabortion care and a purposive sample survey of key informants knowledgeable about abortion conditions. We found that more than 16,700 women received care for complications resulting from induced abortion in Rwanda in 2009, or 7 per 1,000 women aged 15–44. Approximately 40 percent of abortions are estimated to lead to complications requiring treatment, but about a third of those who experienced a complication did not obtain treatment. Nationally, the estimated induced abortion rate is 25 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44, or approximately 60,000 abortions annually. An urgent need exists in Rwanda to address unmet need for contraception, to strengthen family planning services, to broaden access to legal abortion, and to improve postabortion care.