AFRICA has the largest burden of maternal mortality in the world and unsafe abortion accounts for up to 40 per cent of maternal deaths on the continent, making this a serious public health, human rights and social equity issue.
And in Zambia, unsafe abortion is still a silent crisis despite having the laws that allow women to seek safe abortion services.
It has been a challenge to reduce unsafe morbidity and mortality is still high despite having the Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1972.
According to the Zambia Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians with a maternal mortality of 591 out of 100,000 live births, it is estimated that up to 30 per cent of these deaths could be resulting from Unsafe Abortion.
Hospital based studies show that 30-50 per cent of acute gynecological admissions are as a result of abortion complications, a big proportion being from Unsafe Abortion.
However, every year, about 29,000 African women and girls die from complications from unsafe abortions, and countless more are left with serious injuries.
One quarter of unsafe abortions occurs among adolescents ages 15-19, and 60 per cent are among women under age 25.
Against this background, some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have come up with several measures to save life from unsafe abortions.
The NGOs have continued to increase awareness and provide more information on reproductive health to enable women make informed choices.
In one of such effort, journalists from Africa have convened at a workshop here to share recent advanced issues of addressing unsafe abortion in Africa
The other issue is to strengthen skills on how to report about abortion during the upcoming policy moments at global, regional, and national levels.
The workshop has drawn journalists from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia
The training is under the auspice of Ipas Africa Alliance for Women’s Reproductive Health and Rights.
Ipas is a global non-governmental organisation founded in 1973 to promote women’s reproductive health and rights and reduce maternal deaths and disabilities from unsafe abortion.
The Ipas Africa Alliance for Women’s Reproductive Health and Rights, established by Ipas in 2000, is the biggest Ipas programme with a multi-country office based in Nairobi, and currently serves fourteen African countries in the region. Ipas also has full country offices and programmes in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia and sub-offices in Malawi and Sierra Leone.