February 2018 Monthly News Review

African debates

As in debates in Ireland, Poland and the US among other countries, the tension between reform and tradition over increased access to sex education, contraception choice and safe abortion was evident across Africa. In Namibia, where the health minister is calling for a debate on a referendum to change the abortion law, a woman was charged with murder for having performed an abortion. Some Kenyan groups are calling for increased investment in family planning and sex education and services for adolescents, while others are calling the moves “dangerous.” Women in South Africa, where abortion is legal, nevertheless have challenges finding services, so the procedure is “performed mostly illegally.” The majority Muslim countries of Egypt and Morocco are seeing debates about access to family planning and even abortion.

Technology to promote family planning access and practice expanded in several countries. In Kenya, start-up Nivi wants to help women find the right kind of contraception through an interactive voice response (IVR) solution on their phones, which then can produce a voucher for purchase and even a free ride to a clinic. “Dr. Love” is a mobile app that teaches youth in the DRC about safe sex. More traditional outreach on radio in Nigeria where the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI2) is producing “Get it Together” programs and in Burkina Faso where 30 radio producers received training on making effective shows that deal with sexual and reproductive health.

More contraception use was noted in Uganda (traditional condom use up, the introduction of the “Panty condom” and evidence about self-injection contraceptive continuation) and Rwanda (47% of women embracing contraception) though Zimbabwe reports a high teen pregnancy rate (22%) and low use of female condoms.

Beyond the obvious and overwhelming health benefits for women and girls, reports in Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda extoll the economic benefits, prosperity, and “huge returns on investment” of family planning services.

The Global Gag Rule – One Year Later

In what has been hailed as a “grim anniversary” which has adversely affected millions of women and girls around the world, February marked one year since the US administration’s Global Gag Rule was announced. It denies aid funding for any health or family planning entity that has any relation to abortion – even mentioning the word – restricting some $8.8 billion in funding. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, summed up the broader effects: “Restricting abortion access does not stop people from seeking abortion care, it only makes the procedure less safe, ultimately contributing to maternal mortality. Under this policy, the U.S. has turned its back on the human rights of women and girls around the world.”

Hundreds of clinics have closed across Africa, Nigeria is experiencing “devastating effects”, “girls in Latin America are dying”, yet the State Department claimed that “Few Groups Reject Abortion-Restricted U.S. Global Health Funds,” a claim strongly rejected by among others the UN Foundation, which called the statement, “disappointing and misleading. It fails to address the full scope of impacts of the policy and fosters misinformation… The real consequences of the Global Gag Rule will be on the millions of disadvantaged women, families and communities who will lose access to lifesaving services, as we know from evidence from prior versions of the policy.”

Mary Stopes International will have a shortfall of $80 million, which “will lead to 6,900 avoidable maternal deaths, 870,000 unsafe abortions and 2.5 million unintended pregnancies… Already clinics and projects in Madagascar, Uganda and Zimbabwe have been scaled back.” While the She Decides funding of $450 million euros is a start, it cannot plug the full gap. A moving essay by a Kenyan nurse describes her struggle, citing closed clinics, laid-off staff, contraceptive shortages, unwanted pregnancies and complications from unsafe abortions. “To allow a funder to dictate the services I can or cannot provide, would be malpractice.”

At the end of the month, the State Department’s Annual Report erased the document’s Reproductive Rights section.

Complete News References:

Botswana

Management of post abortion complications in Botswana -The need for a standardized approach, PLOS One, 16 Feb 2018

Burkina Faso

Planification familiale : Les efforts de l’ Etat salués, Sidwaya, 27 Feb 2018

Santé sexuelle et reproductive : Des animateurs radio formés en production de magazine, Sidwaya, 14 Feb 2018

DRC

Ask “Dr. Love”: mobile app teaches Congolese youth about safe sex, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 14 Feb 2018

Egypt

Why Egyptian women reluctant to Family Planning Program?, Egypt Today, 6 Feb 2018

Ethiopia