Moving forward / Moving sideways / Moving backwards – October 2018 News Review | Center for International Reproductive Health Training

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Forward:

In Benin, communities are working together to “tackle abortion stigma” and engage civil society in a broad discussion about family planning.

The government in DRC, where complications form unsafe abortion are common, is popularizing (in French: “vulgarization”) its adoption of Article 14 the Maputo Protocol which guarantees women’s right to reproductive health, including access to contraception and abortion, which local papers say is leading the way to safe abortion service and women’s opportunity.

A study in IJGO lauded Ethiopia’s implementation of safe abortion services, an effort that succeeded through government leadership, NGO involvement, and expansion of health professional education.

Rwanda has made changes to its abortion law that no longer require court intervention. While restrictions still exist, some activists say the law signals “an important step forward in the promotion and respect of women’s rights.”

Burkina Faso has set “ambitious health goals.” While clandestine abortions cost lives and some say contraception for youths is not accepted, a “vast campaign for better communication” has been undertaken.

Religious leaders in Nigeria “may be the key” to family planning efforts, which the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative study says will contribute to boost the number of clients, as the government works to “mainstream” family planning policies and “reduce death by 30%.”

Egypt has approved $19 M for family planning, in a country that “cannot benefit from development” at the current birth rate.

Botswana has one of the fastest falling fertility rates, in part attributed to being “very proactive in in establishing a family planning programme that was far-reaching in terms of its geographical reach, providing access to most people in the country to a range of contraceptive methods.”

At the release of the annual Mo Ibrahim Foundation Index of African Governance, the philanthropist stated that “Africa must tackle the birth control taboo” to “beat poverty”.

Sideways:

Kenya offers a set of contradictory stories. “One in every three girls aged 15 to 19 in Kenya has an unmet need for family planning according to KDHS 2014. The number is similar among women aged 20 and 29,” in part thanks to bishops’ insistence on abstinence-only. For married women, “Kenya tops the East African region in the use of contraceptives.” In the background, the Trump Global Gag Rule, which one family planning provider said “was akin to signing her patients’ death sentence.” (The Washington Post published an excellent view of how the Gag Rule “reverberated around the globe.”)

South Africa has “wonderful laws”, but not the “people to implement those laws,” as “conscientious objection” obstructs access to safe abortion. Ghana recorded 53,000 abortions at public health centers in 2017, yet unsafe abortion is “soaring.”

The US landscape is in flux: Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court, putting both sides of the abortion debate “gear up for battle.” The Trump Administration “religious exemption” birth control policies will result in “contraception deserts,” and could put 25 M women in 20 states at risk of losing abortion rights, even though “6 in 10 Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.” Yet federal courts in Kentucky and Virginia issues ruling protecting abortion access. KFF offers a compendium of state policies on abortion access.

Backwards:

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli “bluntly attacked contraception,” saying high birth rates are good for the economy and calling users “lazy.” At the same time, the health ministry put a temporary ban on family planning advertising and Marie Stopes International was forced to close 10 clinics.

Pope Francis compared having an abortion to “hiring a hitman to solve a problem.”

Only half of Namibian women have access to contraceptives. A Kenyan man in Lesotho was arrested for assisting a woman with an abortion.

An assessment of Family Planning Service Availability and Readiness in 10 African Countries in GH:SP concluded “the availability of oral contraceptives, injectables, and condoms varied greatly, and the availability of basic items indicating service readiness, such as guidelines, trained staff, equipment, and certain commodities, was low.”

Benin

Press-book du Ceradis : Regard de la société civile sur les engagements du Bénin pour la Planification familiale, La Nouvelle Tribune, 27 Oct 2018

Breaking the silence with a whisper, IPPF, 16 Oct 2018

Abortion stigma: From judge to advocate, IPPF, 16 Oct 2018

The Benin community working together to tackle abortion stigma, IPPF, 16 Oct 2018

Botswana

How to grapple with soaring world population? An answer from Botswana, The Guardian, 10 Oct 2018

Burkina Faso

Santé sexuelle et de la reproduction des jeunes au Burkina: Une vaste campagne pour mieux communiquer, Faso 24, 27 Oct 2018

Planification familiale : Le slam, un outil de mobilisation sociale, Sidwaya, 24 Oct 2018

Dr Georges Coulibaly de Maries Stopes Burkina : “La contraception pour les jeunes n’est pas acceptée …”, Sidwaya, 22 Oct 2018

Senior Burkina Faso Officials Outline Ambitious Health Goals at First Reference Group Meeting, PRB, 22 Oct 2018