BackgroundWhile induced abortion is considered to be illegal and socially unacceptable in Nigeria, it is still practiced by many women in the country. Poor family planning and unsafe abortion practices have daunting effects on maternal health. For instance, Nigeria is on the verge of not meeting the Millennium development goals on maternal health due to high maternal mortality ratio, estimated to be about 630 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Recent evidences have shown that a major factor in this trend is the high incidence of abortion in the country. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to investigate the factors determining the demand for abortion and post-abortion care in Ibadan city of Nigeria.MethodsThe study employed data from a hospital-based/exploratory survey carried out between March to September 2010. Closed ended questionnaires were administered to a sample of 384 women of reproductive age from three hospitals within the Ibadan metropolis in South West Nigeria. However, only 308 valid responses were received and analysed. A probit model was fitted to determine the socioeconomic factors that influence demand for abortion and post-abortion care.ResultsThe results showed that 62% of respondents demanded for abortion while 52.3% of those that demanded for abortion received post-abortion care. The findings again showed that income was a significant determinant of abortion and post-abortion care demand. Women with higher income were more likely to demand abortion and post-abortion care. Married women were found to be less likely to demand for abortion and post-abortion care. Older women were significantly less likely to demand for abortion and post-abortion care. Mothers’ education was only statistically significant in determining abortion demand but not post-abortion care demand.ConclusionThe findings suggest that while abortion is illegal in Nigeria, some women in the Ibadan city do abort unwanted pregnancies. The consequence of this in the absence of proper post-abortion care is daunting. There is the need for policymakers to intensify public education against indiscriminate abortion and to reduce unwanted pregnancies. In effect, there is need for effective alternative family planning methods. This is likely to reduce the demand for abortion. Further, with income found as a major constraint, post abortion services should be made accessible to both the rich and poor alike so as to prevent unnecessary maternal deaths as a result of abortion related complications.

17.4 % in 1990 to 22 % in 1998 and 31 % in 2005 it has reduced to 26 % in 2008 it has reduced to 26 % in and 21.4% in 2013 it has reduced to 26 % in (World factbook, 2013

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This study identifies the growth prospect of financing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria and the challenges that constitute a hindrance to the growth of MSMEs in Nigeria. This study employed descriptive analysis, simple percentages and deductive method to describe the growth prospect of financing MSMEs and the problems experienced by the MSMEs. It was found that the growth and survival of MSMEs are still hampered by inaccessibility to funds owing to different reasons and challenges. The chief among the challenges is that financial institutions look at many MSMEs as high risk debtors without credit worthiness. The key finding of this study is that the financial support in term of loans given to MSMEs by the financial institutions has been declining continuously over the years and this hamper the growth prospect of MSMEs. The Federal Government should formulate policies that would encourage MSMEs to begin to source funds from the capital market through the introduction of the third-tier security market since there is an increasing growth in the number of MSMEs in Nigeria.

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