Access to safe and legal abortion services is a far reach for women and girls in Uganda

Access to safe and legal abortion services is a far reach for women and girls in Uganda

By Fednand Tuhame

Mbarara

Women with unwanted pregnancies have been encouraged to opt for safe abortion.

This call has been made by a senior midwife at Mbarara regional referral hospital Treasure Nuwenshaba during a media Café in “Abortion and Human Rights” organised by the Health Journalists Network in Uganda (HEJNU) at Adit Mall in Mbarara city.

Although unsafe abortion rates have fallen from 54 to 39 per 1000 women aged 15–45 years over a decade, absolute figures show a rise from 294 000 in 2003 to 314 000 women having unsafe abortions in 2013.

Unfortunately, only 50% of the women who develop abortion complications are able to reach facilities for post-abortion care.

She said that safe abortion refers to a procedure for terminating a pregnancy performed by a person with the necessary skills, using a method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This qualified midwife said that all medical persons are not qualified to conduct safe abortion, urging women to always visit government hospitals with genuine reasons.

Nuwenshaba also highlighted that safe abortion needs to be conducted in an environment that meets minimal medical standards.

Despite the clinical evidence and the stories from undocumented cases, debate on access to safer and legal abortion is constricted, moralized, and stigmatized.

The harm reduction model has shown evidence of benefit in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity due to unsafe abortion while addressing related stigma and discrimination and advancing women’s reproductive health rights.