10 Women in India Die Each Day Due to Unsafe Abortion

According to research published in India Today, more than 80 percent of women do not know that abortion is legal in India.

Newsx Bureau
29 July 2021

It is estimated that 15.6 million abortions take place in India every year. A
significant number of these abortions are done under highly unsafe conditions.
Unsafe abortion leads to the death of 13 women in India each day. It is the
third-largest cause of maternal mortality in India.

According to statistics from various reports
published on the WHO website:

Between 2015 and 2019, on average, 73.3
million induced (safe and unsafe) abortions occurred worldwide each year.
There were 39 induced abortions per 1000
women aged between 15–49 years.
3 out of 10 (29%) of all pregnancies,
and 6 out of 10 (61%) of all unintended pregnancies, ended in induced
abortion.
Around 7 million women are admitted to
hospitals every year in developing countries due to unsafe abortion.

Continued: https://www.newsx.com/health-and-environment/10-women-in-india-die-each-day-due-to-unsafe-abortion.html

29.07.2021

Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971

Uganda – COVID-19 affects maternal health care

PATRICIA AKANKWATSA, The Independent
July 23, 2021

Uganda’s response to COVID-19 has negatively impacted maternal, child and neonatal health, accord[1]ing to data by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The UNFPA says the biggest and longest lasting impact is seen in complications of pregnancy, stillbirths and low-birth weight infants likely due to delayed care-seeking behaviour.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.ug/covid-19-affects-maternal-health-care/

Ecuador: Criminalizing Abortion Affects Rights, Health

Greatest Harm for Indigenous, Afro-Descendent People Living in Poverty

July 14, 2021
Human Rights Watch

(Washington, D.C.) – Ecuador’s laws
criminalizing abortion violate the rights and risk the lives and health of
women and girls, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 128-page report, “‘Why Do They Want to Make Me Suffer Again?’ The Impact of
Abortion Prosecutions in Ecuador” documents how these laws are having
widespread harmful consequences in Ecuador, costing lives through increased
maternal mortality and morbidity, cutting women and girls off from essential
services, and undermining broader efforts to promote sexual and reproductive
health. Women and girls charged with abortion often experience violations of
their rights to medical confidentiality and due process, and face significant
obstacles to accessing quality legal representation. The prosecutions affect
not only women who wish to end an unwanted pregnancy but also those who
experience miscarriages or obstetric emergencies, or urgently require
post-abortion care.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/14/ecuador-criminalizing-abortion-affects-rights-health

Zimbabwe – Illegal abortions to be tackled

Precious Manomano,o Herald Reporter
12 July 2021

Cases of illegal abortions are on the increase and posing a serious health threat to women and young girls.

Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises and other stakeholders are conducting awareness campaigns with the thrust to invoke women to stand up and avert abortion.

Continued: https://www.herald.co.zw/illegal-abortions-to-be-tackled/

12.07.2021

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Maria Chiwera

Termination of Pregnancies Act

Tamil Nadu: Woman, 27 bleeds to death after illegal abortion in Cuddalore

July 12, 2021

Ariyalur police on Sunday booked a woman nurse on charges of performing an illegal abortion on a woman, resulting in her death.

Continued: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/trichy/woman-27-bleeds-to-death-after-illegal-abortion/articleshow/84328233.cms

12.07.2021

Set in Chad, Cannes film ‘Lingui’ explores abortion struggles

July 9, 2021
Reuters

CANNES, France, July 9 (Reuters) - The director behind "Lingui", a Cannes Film Festival entry about a teenager's battle in Chad to get an abortion, said on Friday he hoped the story would resonate well beyond the African country, including in places like the United States where there are vocal anti-abortion movements.

Mahamet-Saleh Haroun said he was inspired to explore the issue after reading stories about babies abandoned or killed by their young mothers in Chad, where abortion is only allowed in specific cases where a woman's life is in danger.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/set-chad-cannes-film-lingui-explores-abortion-struggles-2021-07-09/

09.07.2021

Achouackh Abakar Souleymane

Lingui

Mahamet-Saleh Haroun

movies about abortion

Family Planning: Nigeria records 2.5m unintended pregnancies annually – Official

If good measures are taken, the annual number of unplanned births would decrease from 885,000 to 200,000 and the number of abortions would drop from 1.3 million to 287,000,” the official said.

By Nike Adebowale
July 7, 2021

Due to what they described as unmet needs of contraceptives in Nigeria, health experts have said Nigeria annually records about 2.5 million cases of unintended pregnancy.

The duo of Christopher Aimakhu, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Oyo State, and Abubakar Panti, a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, gave some startling statistics about family planning in Nigeria on Wednesday.

Continued: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/472212-family-planning-nigeria-records-2-5m-unintended-pregnancies-annually-official.html

African states, donors launch initiative to boost access to contraceptives

Source: Xinhua
2021-07-05

NAIROBI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Three African countries including Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Uganda on Monday joined hands with international donors to launch an initiative aimed at improving access to reproductive health services including contraceptives.

Senior policymakers said the launch of Shaping Equitable Market Access (SEMA) for Reproductive Health initiative will help reduce unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions among women and girls in Africa and other low-income countries.

Continued: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2021-07/06/c_1310044494.htm

Côte d’Ivoire – Midwives: A Critical Key to Ensuring Women and Girls’ Health Globally

5 July 2021
FIGO Advocating for Safe Abortion Project|

OBGYNs and midwives are part of an essential ecosystem of health workers that provide crucial health care in delivering women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) globally. In lower-middle-income countries where health care facilities outside of capitals can be few and dispersed, midwives in particular are counted on to ensure that women, girls, and newborns receive appropriate care, support and counselling. Professor Boni Serge, President of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Côte d’Ivoire (SOGOCI), shared with us the important leadership role midwives have in Côte d’Ivoire.

Midwives are critical in the fight to reduce preventable maternal deaths and disability
Data from 2016 showed that, with a population of over 20 million, there are not enough health care workers in this coastal West African country (WHO, 2016). More recent data show that while there are more than 6,000 midwives spread across the Ivorian territory, there are only just over 440 OBGYNs. In addition, there is an unequal geographical distribution of these OBGYNs, with the majority of them located in the Ivorian economic capital of Abidjan.

Continued: https://www.figo.org/news/midwives-critical-key-ensuring-women-and-girls-health-globally

Nigeria: Family Planning Saves Lives – We Need to Spread the Message to Men and Women

1 JULY 2021
By Tijani Salami

A year ago, I met a 26-year-old breastfeeding mother who was a graduate student. She was married with three children; the youngest was just eight months old. She started using oral contraceptives after the return of her menses following the birth, but she hid the pills from her husband. When he discovered them, he forced her to throw them away.

Not long after that, she conceived again. Three months later, she had a miscarriage caused by stress. She was admitted into hospital with infection and blood loss. Thankfully, she survived, and her husband has since changed his attitude towards contraceptive use.

Continued: https://allafrica.com/stories/202107010580.html