Africa: Ghana Hosts Forum on Reproductive Health
By Nicholas Tago
ACCRA---Health experts from across the continent are meeting in Ghana to discuss the thorny issue of unsafe abortion that continues to dog women’s health. Held under the theme, “Keeping our Promise: Addressing unsafe abortion in Africa”, the forum will; address broken promises on women’s reproductive health rights.
According to Ms. Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Director of the African Centre for Gender and Social Development at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the conference will provide a platform for effective deliberations on policy formulation in order to address the problem once and for all.
“An estimated 36,000 young adults of school going age die needlessly of unsafe abortion in Africa,” she says adding that: “on the African continent, the debate needs to address legalizing abortion and making it a safe practice; this must go hand in hand with prevention against unwanted pregnancies and HIV infection, which is also a result of unprotected sex.”
While issues to do with women’s reproductive rights have been subjects of discussion at various fora, with certain commitments being made, most the promises remain unfulfilled.
Ms. Ruzvidzo points out that the conference is building on growing concerns that the alarming maternal mortality is failing African women. “Five months ago, at the highest leadership level, the African Heads of State Summit in Kampala in July 2010 had as its theme, Maternal, infant and child health,” She says, and adds that commitments are needed at all levels to safeguard the reproductive health and rights of women to reverse the needless deaths of many young women.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), roughly 5.5 million unsafe abortions are performed annually in Africa and the deaths from unsafe abortion account for approximately 14 percent of all maternal deaths in the region.
Ms. Aissatou Gueye, from ECA’s Economic Development and NEPAD Division said many women resort to unsafe abortion to control their fertility but which unfortunately leads to high morbidity and mortality, a clear violation of their human rights.
“Existing international and regional agreements on women’s rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights must be honoured to improve maternal mortality and reduce the incidence of unsafe abortion,” she said.
The Conference has been organized by Ipas, a global nongovernmental organization dedicated to ending preventable deaths and disabilities from unsafe abortion in conjunction with the ECA, African Network for Medical Abortion (ANMA), FEMNET (the African Women’s Development and Communication Network), the Ghana Ministry of Health, International Planned Parenthood Foundation Africa Regional Office and Marie Stopes International.