Kenya – Time to put a stop to needless deaths resulting from unsafe abortion

By Wangari Ireri
Oct 2, 2023

Lack of access to safe abortion due to known barriers remains unacceptably high. Unsafe abortion is a public health concern and according to 2013 findings of the 'Magnitude and incidences of unsafe abortion' study conducted by the Ministry of Health, unsafe abortion in the country is among the highest in Africa.

Maternal mortality is high at about 6,000 deaths per year, 17 per cent of them from complications of unsafe abortion. The study, conducted by the African Population and Health Research Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Ipas, Guttmacher Institute and other partners estimated that 464,690 induced abortions were conducted in Kenya in 2012, corresponding to an induced abortion rate of 48 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age (15-49 years), and an induced abortion ratio of 30 abortions per 100 births.

Continued: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health-opinion/article/2001482684/time-to-put-a-stop-to-needless-deaths-resulting-from-unsafe-abortion

02.10.2023

Opinion

African Population and Health Research Centre

Guttmacher Institute

International Safe Abortion Day

Ipas

maternal mortality

World Health Organisation

Kenya – Poverty, ignorance led us to unsafe abortions

By Sharon Wanga
Oct. 2, 2023

Susan Wairimu can’t hide the joy of having her 3-year-old daughter playing her around despite her past mistakes in life. The 23-year-old mother recounts how different her childhood life was when she lived with her father and siblings in Mathare slums.

“Being raised by a single parent, my father always locked us up in the house and isolated us from neighbours. He used to warn me that he never wanted to see me playing with boys. I was too young to understand the reasons,” Wairimu says.

Continued: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/reproductive-health/article/2001482541/poverty-ignorance-led-us-to-unsafe-abortions

02.10.2023

Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa

Susan Wairimu

women's abortion stories

Kenya – One is too many women to lose to unsafe abortion

Thursday, September 28, 2023

By Wangari Ireri, Programme Manager, TICAH

Lack of access to safe abortion due to known barriers remains unacceptably high. Unsafe abortion is a public health concern, and according to the Ministry of Health’s 2013 Magnitude and Incidences of Unsafe Abortion in Kenya study, unsafe abortion in the country is among the highest in Africa. Maternal mortality is high at approximately 6,000 deaths per year, 17 per cent of which are due to complications from unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/one-is-too-many-women-to-lose-to-unsafe-abortion-4383168

28.09.2023

Opinion

African Population and Health Research Centre

International Safe Abortion Day

Magnitude and Incidences of Unsafe Abortion in Kenya

Kenya – Entrench safe motherhood

To uphold the fundamental human right to health, as enshrined in the Constitution, maternal health must remain a top government priority.

Thursday, August 03, 2023

By Tamia Nuna, Youth Advocate

In 2020, nearly 800 women died daily from pregnancy- and childbirth-related preventable causes, a maternal death every two minutes. While the global maternal mortality ration (MMR) dropped by 34 per cent from 2000 figures, that 95 per cent of cases were in low- and lower-middle-income countries is a concern. Kenya had a high MMR, of 530 deaths per 100,000 live births, above the global average of 223, thus the urgent need for action.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/entrench-safe-motherhood-4324120

03.08.2023

maternal mortality ratio

MMR

Sustainable Development Goal 3

Mozambique: 20 Years After Maputo, It’s a Long Road Ahead to Gender Equality

Two decades on from a landmark treaty advancing the rights of African women, gender equality remains alive on paper, elusive in practice.

12 JULY 2023
By Madalitso Kateta

Magret Kawala of Mponela in Dowa district, central Malawi had always experienced the joys of motherhood and married life. But when she became pregnant while nursing a nine-month-old child Kawala's fortunes changed.

When it was confirmed that she was three months pregnant, her instinct told her she had to go for an abortion. She discussed the issue with her husband, but since surgical abortion in Malawi is illegal and only permissible when a pregnancy pauses a threat to a woman, the couple opted for a backstreet abortion.

Continued: https://allafrica.com/stories/202307130009.html

Kenya should consider withdrawing from Geneva Consensus Declaration that restricts abortion

By Kelvin Mokaya
July 7, 2023

Evidence shows that restricting access to abortion does not reduce the number of abortions. What it does is increase the likelihood of an unsafe procedure. According to the Guttmacher Institute, in countries with the least restrictive abortion laws, less than one per cent of abortions are typically unsafe. In the most restrictive, that number goes up to 31 per cent.

Over the past two decades, the health evidence, technologies and human rights rationale for providing safe, comprehensive abortion care have evolved greatly. However, despite these advances, the World Health Organisation estimates that there are approximately 22 million unsafe abortions annually, resulting in 47,000 deaths and five million complications that end in hospital admission.

Continued: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health-opinion/article/2001476716/kenya-should-consider-withdrawing-from-geneva-consensus-declaration-that-restricts-abortion

07.07.2023

Opinion

Geneva Consensus Declaration

Guttmacher Institute

World Health Organisation

Majority of Kenyans against abortion, new study shows

Monday, July 03, 2023
By Angela Oketch, Health and Science reporter

Nine out of 10 Kenyan adults say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, a new study shows.

A 24-country study by the Pew Research Center found that attitudes varied widely across countries, with religiously unaffiliated adults, people on the ideological left and women more likely to support legal abortion.

Continued: https://nation.africa/kenya/health/majority-of-kenyans-against-abortion-new-study-shows-4291138

03.07.2023

News

anti-choice ignorance

anti-choice misogyny

maternal mortality

opinion polls on abortion

How a community-run helpline is helping women access safe abortion advice in Kenya

Sian Norris
June 20, 2023

In a leafy Nairobi suburb, the roaring traffic and human bustle of the city’s highways has receded into the distance. All that breaks the soft silence is the insistent ringing of the phone inside an office decorated with posters promoting sexual and reproductive rights. One poster explores consent: “is she shy, or too afraid to say stop?” Another exhorts the reader to “be true to you”, while one simply states “joy”.

Picking up that phone are the team behind Aunty Jane, a hotline which provides support for anyone with questions about their sexual and reproductive health, including how to access safe and legal abortion care.

Continued: https://theferret.scot/aunty-jane-kenya-helpline-access-safe-abortion/

20.06.2023

Commentary

Adhiambo

African Youth Action Network

Aunty Jane

Betram Odhiambo

Hesperian Health Guides

Kenya – Laws on abortion will save women and girls

Abortion is protected by the constitution under Article26 (4).

Purity Nthiana
June 14, 2023

Abortion is a topic that has been very sensitive over the years. When people are asked about their opinion, they throw the ‘abortion is a crime’ statement with no further room for debate.

Dozens of women access abortion and post-abortion services yearly whether safe or unsafe. Abortion is protected by the constitution under Article 26 (4).

Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/2023-06-14-nthiana-laws-on-abortion-will-save-women-and-girls/

Kenya – Pharmacist Charged In Mombasa For Alleged Induced Abortion Of 15-Year-Old Girl

By BRUHAN MAKONG
Jun 7, 2023

NAIROBI, Kenya - A pharmacist has been charged before a Mombasa court for allegedly conducting an induced abortion on a 15-year-old girl who had conceived through defilement.

Mombasa Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku heard that Amos Nzioki committed the offence on 3 June 2023 at his private chemist in Tudor.

Continued: https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2023/06/pharmacist-charged-in-mombasa-for-alleged-induced-abortion-of-15-year-old-girl/

07.06.2023