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Reducing maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion: the Ghana paradox

Samuel Antobam, Private Consultant
Ebo Essilfie-Amoah, Memorial University of Newfoundland

A major contributing factor to high maternal mortality ratio in the Sub-Saharan Africa is unsafe abortion. The contribution of unsafe abortion to maternal mortality in the region is estimated to be over 37 deaths per 100000 live births. It follows that there is a positive relationship between unsafe abortion and abortion related maternal mortality. However, Ghana’s does not follow this expected trend, at least in the last ten years or so. In 2007 maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion was substantial, estimated to be 11%.To reduce it, Ghana Health Service (GHS), with support from various partners implemented a policy to increase access to safe abortion services by expanding the provider cadre to include midwives. The implementation of this policy has been largely successful in reducing maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion from 11% to just 4% between 2007 and 2017. However, in the same period, unsafe abortion as defined by the World Health Organization and enshrined in GHS's Standard and Protocol, increased from 39% to 62%. It this paper we attempt to explain this paradox and raise some fundamental questions around the definition and measurement of unsafe abortion as well as provision of abortion services

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Policy, Health and morbidity, Mortality

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P8.