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By Liza Muringo Kimbo, Ipas Africa Alliance country director At the end of January 2017, I, along with more than 70 representatives from governments, inter-governmental institutions, national human rights institutions, civil society, medical associations, law enforcement agencies, youth and academia, took part in the Africa Leader’s Summit on Safe, Legal Abortion in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. […]
More than 22 million women every year—almost all in developing countries—will have an unsafe abortion because they lack access to safe, high-quality abortion care. There are 225 million women in developing countries who want to avoid pregnancy but lack access to modern contraception. Death from pregnancy-related causes is the second-leading killer of teen girls and […]
Despite progress, unsafe abortion persists After liberalizing Ethiopia’s abortion law in 2005, the government implemented programs designed to train health-care providers, to equip facilities and expand the services they offer, and to integrate abortion care into broader reproductive health services. These efforts have resulted in significant improvements in access to abortion and postabortion care in […]
The Africa Regional Conference on Abortion: From Research to Policy conference, held Nov. 29 – Dec. 2 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, brought together researchers, policymakers, advocates, health-care providers, youth advocates, journalists, and donors—all focused on reducing the detrimental impact of unsafe abortion on African women, especially young women and girls. The conference corresponded with two […]
The social networking mobile application WhatsApp—which allows users to send messages, create groups of contacts, and share videos and images for free via wireless Internet from their smart phones—is increasingly popular around the world. And in Bolivia, Ipas is finding success using WhatsApp to connect young people with information on sexual and reproductive health and […]
Communities with a high level of abortion-related stigma may also have a higher incidence of unsafe abortion, according to two recent studies in Kenya. One, published in the Annals of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, surveyed 759 women receiving abortion services in private and public health facilities in two counties—one located in a region with […]
The Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom has announced it will fund a three-year research partnership to explore ways to improve adolescent access to contraception and safe abortion in Malawi, Zambia and Ethiopia. The partnership brings together Ipas, the London School of Economics, the African Institute for Development Policy, the University of Zambia and […]
On Oct. 26, Ipas Central America and its partners in the region marked 10 years since Nicaragua’s government enacted a total abortion ban, endangering the lives of women and girls and forcing those with unwanted pregnancies to carry them to term against their will or seek clandestine and often unsafe abortions. In Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, […]
New study points to ‘tremendous opportunity’ to improve uptake Many women seeking abortion care leave health facilities without getting contraceptive counseling or a method choice, increasing their risk of future unintended pregnancy. A new, large-scale study by Ipas finds that offering women contraceptive counseling and a choice of methods at the time of abortion can […]
On August 8th, the parliament of Nepal voted to approve its FY17 budget, which for the first time includes funding for safe abortion care. The funding ensures implementation of a key provision of a 2009 court decision guaranteeing access to services for all women of Nepal. “This budget allocation represents a significant step forward in […]
Where everyone finds safe, respectful health care What do you call a private space staffed by dedicated young volunteers where youth can come for counseling and referrals for sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortion? A “youth-friendly corner,” naturally. And within clinics across Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, these specially tailored spaces are making a real […]
In Zambia, young people work to end unsafe abortion Nana Zulu is Ipas Zambia’s youth advisor and a longtime advocate for sexual and reproductive rights. At age 26, Nana was hired by Ipas to develop our Zambia youth program. Most of the time we look at young people as recipients of information and services, but […]
Drawn by the sound of traditional drumming, a crowd has gathered on a sunny morning in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, to watch young performers dance and sing energetically. The dancing then gives way to a skit in which a charismatic male character courts one girlfriend, and then a second. The actors are masters of comedy (indeed, […]
A group of reproductive health experts has recommended that the World Health Organization (WHO) update the way it defines and measures “unsafe” abortion. Since the 1990s, WHO has defined unsafe abortion as those performed either by individuals lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both. […]
Interview: Domestic provider, international perspective The U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a Texas law placing undue requirements on abortion clinics is a significant victory not only for women in the United States, but for women around the world. It highlights both the importance of women’s access to abortion and the clear evidence that abortion […]
As a member of the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crises, Ipas has been involved in efforts for many years to advance the sexual and reproductive health of people affected by crises. . Tamara Fetters, Ipas senior research and evaluation advisor, and Tracy DiTucci, Ipas special projects advisor, fielded questions about Ipas’s work in this area.
New research from South Africa suggests that women can use mobile devices, such as phones or tablets, to accurately assess their eligibility for medical abortion via an online gestational age calculator. Findings from the Ipas-funded research project were recently published in the journal Reproductive Health. Led by principal investigator Dr. Jane Harries at the University […]
“I followed my heart and my doctor’s advice for my survival,” said Marina Leite after having an abortion in Brazil, a country where abortion, in most circumstances, is regarded as a criminal act. Leite’s abortion, however, was legal and safe because her pregnancy was life-threatening. She was 28 weeks pregnant and was carrying an abnormal […]
Police officers can be important allies in efforts to improve women’s access to safe abortion care. Ipas has worked with police in Ghana and other countries since 2009, and in the newly published manual, A Practical Guide for Partnering with Police to Improve Abortion Access, shares lessons and guidance based on that experience. “Even in […]