By Francis Onoiribholo - Bureau Chief Benin
Following the increasing cases of abortion in the country, the Women’s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC) has organised training for pharmacists in Ovia-North East Local Government Area of Edo State to curb the trend.
The workshop, which was held at the Main Auditorium of the Women’s Health and Action Research Centre (WHARC), was aimed at building capacity of mid-level providers to equip them to cope with cases of Medical Abortion and Post Abortion Care in Nigeria.
At the workshop, the Project Officer for Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF), Miss Rebecca Kelechi Eze, said attention was needed to be drawn to areas of Women’s Reproductive Health and Rights, Family Planning, Data Management, Counseling and Referral on Medicated Abortion and Contraceptive Services.
Also at the workshop, Dr. Lucky Owabor warned: ‘‘Abortion is illegal in Nigeria but Nigerian women are faced with the problem of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and the complications of unsafe abortion’’.
While insisting that every woman has a right to reproductive health, Owabor pointed out that the reproductive rights framework emphasizes the protection of an individual woman’s legal right to reproductive health services, focusing on increasing access to contraception and keeping abortion legal.
Such reproductive rights that embrace human rights recognized both national and international, legal and human rights documents include the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education and means to do so.
Others are the right to attain the highest attainable standard of sexual and reproductive health, the right of women to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.
The right of men and women to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent as well as the right of access to information and the right of everyone to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its implications are also part of it. Besides, Patrick Erah, a professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice at the University of Benin, said: ‘‘Pharmaceutical Industry plays a major role in assessing essential medicine in reproductive health because it helps to reduce unwanted pregnancies, complicated pregnancies and maternal mortality with essential medicine that are affordable, accessible and of good quality.’’
The post WHARC trains pharmacists on abortion management appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.