Mrs. Dossi Sekonnou Gloria AGUEH, RFLD Africa Director Joins Expert Panel as Guinea Hosts Critical Summit on West Africa’s Abortion Crisis
As unsafe abortions continue to claim thousands of lives across West Africa, a powerful coalition of health experts is gathering in Guinea’s capital from 17 – 27 October 2025 to confront one of the continent’s most pressing—and controversial—public health emergencies.
Mrs Dossi AGUEH, Director for Africa at the Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) — the Network of Women Leaders for Development — will be among the leading voices at the 3rd Regional Dialogue for Safe Abortion in Francophone Africa, where advocates are pushing to transform reproductive healthcare in a region where an estimated 1.8 million unsafe abortions occur annually.
The nine countries of Francophone West Africa—Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo—represent what health experts call a forgotten crisis. These nations rank among the 25 least-developed countries globally, yet receive significantly less international donor funding for family planning than other regions in sub-Saharan Africa.
Health infrastructure in these countries struggles to keep pace with basic primary care, let alone address complex reproductive health needs. A limited private healthcare sector means most women have nowhere to turn when facing an unwanted pregnancy.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. With some of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates and fertility levels ranging from four births per woman in Togo to seven in Niger, Francophone West Africa faces a perfect storm of reproductive health challenges that experts say are entirely preventable.
The numbers paint a grim picture. Across Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, unsafe abortion remains a leading killer of women and girls. Despite most countries having legal provisions for abortion—including to protect women’s lives, health, and in cases of rape or incest—these laws often exist only on paper.
“There is a vast unmet need for comprehensive abortion care services in the region,” concluded a 2015 assessment of abortion care needs in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa. The report found that even where abortion is technically legal, services remain inaccessible due to powerful cultural, religious, and political opposition, along with crushing stigma and widespread ignorance about abortion’s legality.
The legal landscape for abortion across Sub-Saharan Africa spans from outright prohibition to unrestricted access. As of 2024, 92% of women of reproductive age in the region live under highly or moderately restrictive abortion laws that either ban the procedure entirely or limit it to cases where a woman’s life or health is threatened.
One bright spot: The African Union’s Maputo Protocol, the only human rights instrument with specific abortion criteria, has likely contributed to legal reforms in countries that have expanded abortion access since its adoption in 2003.
Research reveals a stark truth that undermines anti-abortion arguments: Legal restrictions don’t reduce abortion rates. Global data shows abortion occurs at identical rates—40 per 1,000 women annually—in countries where it’s prohibited and where it’s broadly legal. The difference is that restrictive laws force women toward dangerous, clandestine procedures instead of safe medical care.
Nearly all abortions stem from unintended pregnancies, and Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest unintended pregnancy rate at 91 per 1,000 women. The region also has the highest overall pregnancy rate at 218 per 1,000.
An estimated 37% of unintended pregnancies in the region end in abortion—a proportion that has risen significantly over three decades. As women increasingly desire smaller families but lack access to modern contraceptives, they’re caught in an impossible situation: unable to prevent pregnancies and unable to safely terminate them.
The RFLD’s involvement in the Conakry summit underscores the critical role women leaders are playing in addressing this crisis. Our organization has published a comprehensive manual on safe abortion, available for download, that advocates hope will serve as a roadmap for healthcare providers and policymakers throughout the region.
“The question facing leaders at this week’s summit is whether Francophone Africa will continue to let ideology dictate policy over evidence, or finally prioritize the lives and health of its women and girls.”
For more information, the RFLD Manual on Safe Abortion is available at: https://rflgd.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/RFLD-Manuel.pdf
