Objective: This study aimed to determine whether having at least one close female confidante is associated with knowledge of recommended abortion methods, procedural abortion and medication abortion (MA) pills, among reproductive-aged women in Nigeria and two provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and to identify characteristics associated with such knowledge.

Methods: Using cross-sectional survey data from Performance Monitoring for Action, the authors analyzed responses from 11,106 women of reproductive age in Nigeria (April–May 2018) and 3,697 women across Kinshasa and Kongo Central provinces in the DRC (December 2021–April 2022). Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify characteristics, including having at least one close female confidante, associated with knowing a recommended abortion method and with knowing specifically about MA pills.

Results: Knowledge of at least one recommended abortion method was reported by 27.0% of women in Nigeria, 76.7% in Kinshasa, and 58.1% in Kongo Central, while knowledge of MA pills specifically was lower in all three sites (9.2%, 30.8%, and 30.1%, respectively). Having at least one close female confidante was associated with higher odds of knowing a recommended abortion method in Nigeria (aOR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.25–1.79) and Kongo Central (aOR = 2.66, 95% CI 1.40–5.40), and with higher odds of knowing about MA pills specifically in Kinshasa (aOR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.08–1.93) and Kongo Central (aOR = 3.61, 95% CI 1.28–10.22), though not with MA knowledge in Nigeria. The authors conclude that in legally restrictive contexts where knowledge of recommended abortion methods, particularly medication abortion, is low, having close female friends is related to increased knowledge of recommended abortion methods.