‘Self Abortion, Not HIV, Is Killer Of Youths’

Self abortion, road accidents and not HIV, has been described as the number one killer disease of the youth worldwide.

Doctor Ayeola of the University Health Centre,Tai Solarin University,Ijagun,Ogun State, stated this at the Association of Teachers Education of Students(ATES) programme organised by comrade Atta Job,president of the Student Union Government of the school.

“HIV is among the killer diseases of the youth but it is not the prime killer disease. It is a killer disease among the RTA’s beaten by mortality.

“Several abortions in Africa, among them, self abortion, is the largest killer of youths between the ages of 15 and 24. It overrides AIDS,” he noted, adding “injuries and RTA’s are the number one killer disease of youth globally, but in Africa it is about 80 per cent of self-abortion of paternal mortality that is the number one killer.

Speaking on what he meant by self abortion, he said “abortions that are conducted either by an unqualified personnel in an unsafe environment or the combination of both.

“In many African countries, abortions are illegal and as such, the rate of unsafe abortions are high and that prime conditions makes it the number one killer of youth aged between 15 and 24 in Africa,”

He said youths can avoid this by using preventive or intervention measures, adding, “basically, we talk about condom use both by female and male, this is one of the measures that youths can use.”

—Ibrahim Bakare and Henrietta Ikhile