Africa Alliance

The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), in partnership with Ipas Africa Alliance, held a regional exchange learning webinar on 25 August 2021, hosted by the Africa Coalition for Safe Abortion (ACSA). ACSA is a broad-based coalition of regional health and human rights civil society organizations that are committed to advocate for access to safe and legal abortion services in line with the Maputo Protocol. This one-page fact sheet outlines the discussion and actions taken during the learning exchange.

Got an abortion question? Ask Nurse Nisa

Ugandan medical student speaks out on Helms Amendment

Kizza Blair is a fourth-year medical student in Uganda and a member of Medical Students for Choice. In this Q&A, we ask him about the value of safe abortion care and the impact of the Helms Amendment, a U.S. law that restricts U.S. foreign assistance funding for abortion services and disproportionately affects Black and brown women in low- and middle-income countries.

Africa Alliance

In Kenya, unsafe abortion has long been recognized as a leading cause of death and injury for women. Under the new Kenyan constitution, abortion is legal under certain circumstances, but many providers have still not been trained in safe abortion care, and women continue to seek unsafe procedures and suffer complications. In neighboring Uganda, abortion-related causes account for 26 percent of maternal deaths, and most women who have abortions undergo unsafe procedures.

Protecting abortion access in Kenya

Well before the coronavirus crisis hit Kenya, the Ipas Africa Alliance was using the online platform WhatsApp to stay in touch with health professionals who are trained to provide abortion care throughout the country. Now, that communication is more valuable than ever.

Health intermediaries in Kenya support women in self-managed abortion

After Fiona*, a university student in Kenya, learned she was unexpectedly pregnant, she became depressed. Her parents are strict, and she was nervous to visit them, afraid that her mother would find out. If she continued the pregnancy, Fiona would likely have to drop out of university. She would experience stigma from becoming pregnant before […]

Kenya restores standards and guidelines for comprehensive reproductive health, including abortion

Earlier this month, Kenya made progress toward advancing women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights: The High Court ruled to restore the standards and guidelines for comprehensive reproductive health, including abortion. The S&Gs were originally instated in 2012 but withdrawn the following year. The reinstatement will allow providers to offer safe abortion care […]

Is abortion stigma linked to higher incidence of unsafe abortion?

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 […]

Uganda adopts standards and guidelines to combat unsafe abortion

With abortion-related causes accounting for an estimated 26 percent of maternal mortality in Uganda, the country’s Ministry of Health has approved national standards and guidelines aimed at reducing deaths and injuries caused by unsafe abortion. They will be implemented in health facilities across Uganda and are designed to improve the health system’s capacity to deliver safe […]

Complications from unsafe abortion common in Kenya

In Kenya, unsafe abortion has long been recognized as a leading cause of death and injury to women—deaths and injuries that are preventable. Under the new Kenyan constitution, induced abortion can be provided for certain indications. However, the law has not yet been fully operationalized and many providers have not been trained to provide safe […]