Barometer 2024: Safe Abortion

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• 11 SADC Member States have legislation that at least aligns to the Maputo Protocol, the first treaty in the world recognising abortion as a right.  

• Many factors can hinder access to legally allowed safe abortion, including poverty; deep stigma and poor social support; insufficient information about the law among women, girls, health professionals and local level law enforcement bodies; lack of health sector guidance; and inadequate equipment or materials. 

• Africa has the highest rates of abortion-related deaths of any region in the world. While Africa accounts for about one-quarter of unsafe abortions globally, it accounts for about two-thirds of abortion-related deaths.1 

• Unmet need for contraception and maternal mortality ratio are both unacceptably high. 

• The global and continental movement to decriminalise abortion is being countered by the resurgence of the anti-abortion movement. 

• Several international bodies, including associations of obstetricians and gynaecologists, are supporting innovative approaches to expanding access to safe abortion care. 

• Women are exercising their agency in finding ways to access safe, or at least safer, abortion, including access to medication abortion and travelling to countries where safe abortion is legally available. 

• Grantees of the Voice and Choice Southern Africa Fund have initiated the Safe Abortion Alliance of Southern Africa to spearhead regional collaboration to advocate for legal review and expanded access to safe abortion  

• Governments of SADC Member States must stop “hiding behind religion and law,” and start caring about the high levels of unsafe abortion and resulting high maternal mortality and act to address these. Assessments done in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia show that Governments need to act with urgency to address unintended pregnancy, particularly amongst younger women. 

• SADC Member states must pay attention to calls for decriminalisation of abortion from the AU Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, WHO and FIGO and critically consider why they believe it is necessary to keep such laws which are denying girls and women of their right to self-determination over their own bodies. Governments and activists should be wary of the activities of well-funded groups that are opposed to abortion. 

Read the Barometer 2024 Safe Abortion chapter. Download the full Barometer.