Abortions are not rare in Cameroon. One fifth of Cameroonian teenage mothers have had at least one induced abortion in the past [
7]. Forty percent (40%) of women aged 20 and above report at least two abortions [
9]. A quarter of in hospital maternal deaths result from unsafe abortions [
2]. Meeting family planning goals alone can cut down the number of abortion related maternal deaths by a third [
3]. In Cameroon, the modern contraceptive prevalence is reported at 16% while the total fertility rate is 5.1 children per woman [
13]. Twenty one (21%) of adolescent school girls in Cameroon are sexually active [
14]. Use of contraception services, especially amongst adolescents in Cameroon is sub- optimal [
15‐
19]. Over 40% of pregnancies in Cameroon are unplanned and 63% of women wishing to avoid a pregnancy do not use a modern method of contraception [
20]. Seventy two (72%) of sexually active youths do not use condoms consistently during [
17]. Between 9 to 13% of all pregnancies in Cameroon are teenage pregnancies [
21,
22]. Pregnancy outcomes amongst this age group generally carry a poorer prognosis [
7,
12,
21,
22]. Modern family planning services must constitute a priority action area. Not only shall this present a unique opportunity to prevent unplanned pregnancies and consequent abortion related deaths, reduction in HIV transmission with increased condom use could be parallel outcome. In Cameroon, like most African settings, discussing issues related to sexuality is generally considered a taboo. Sex education packages need to be carefully evaluated and imperatively incorporated into the secondary school education system. Kongnyuy et al. have described proper family planning services as an opportunity to dispel wrong perspectives. For instance, some women believe hormonal contraception is protective against HIV [
18]. Partner involvement in decision making has been reported to influence uptake and adherence family planning methods options [
15]. Elsewhere, the male partners have been reported to be highly influential in the decision making process when it comes to seeking abortion services [
23]. Meeting half of the unmet contraceptive needs of Cameroon women would avoid 600 maternal deaths annually, as well as avert 65,000 unsafe abortions [
20]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has described unsafe abortion related deaths as easily preventable, especially through correct use of modern contraception [
3]. To be successful in eliminating preventable maternal deaths, the Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) strategy, as described by WHO, could be a useful strategy in supporting in the identification of key drivers, and the conditions under which these unsafe abortions do take place [
24,
25]. Large scale nationwide qualitative and quantitative studies to properly ascertain key barriers to modern contraception uptake are highly needed.