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Following the findings of an alarming number of unintended pregnancies in Ghana by researchers from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Johns Hopkins University and the Guttmacher Institute, the government is tasked with taking steps to reduce the burden of the unsafe abortion. .
Despite relatively liberal abortion laws, an estimated 71% of all abortions in Ghana are performed in circumstances that the government would deem illegal.
National figures in 2017 indicate a pregnancy rate of 194 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-49 and an unwanted pregnancy rate of 103 per 1,000.
Figures show that 53% of all pregnancies nationwide were unwanted, bringing the number to more than 767,200 unwanted pregnancies each year.
In the same year, an estimated 23% of all pregnancies in Ghana ended in abortion. Out of 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 49, an average abortion rate of 44 was estimated, adding to more than 327,600 abortions in the year.
Presenting the extensive research findings on abortion in Ghana at a workshop at the Accra City Hotel on Tuesday, October 27, KNUST’s Dr. Easmon Otupri noted that while safe abortion is legal in the country, access is a trouble.
While lamenting the lack of public awareness of abortion and its laws, she revealed that the research findings also revealed that women seeking abortion services in health facilities pretend to be seeking family planning services.
Joining together via Zoom’s video call, Guttmacher Institute Senior Research Scientist Dr. Sarah Keogh emphasized that the findings give an indication that there is a need for women to know that abortion is legal under certain circumstances in Ghana. .
Therefore, it is urging government partners to disseminate information on how and where to obtain safe legal abortion services and also expand access to safe legal abortion services, as well as post-abortion care.
In addition, Dr. Sarah Keogh wants better contraceptive services by offering a wide range of high-quality counseling services and methods.
At the workshop chaired by the Director of the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Kofi Issah, other speakers, including Onikepe Owolabi, Chelsea Polis, and Dr. Roderick Reindorf, took turns insisting on the findings from the alarming number of unintended cases. annually registered pregnancies among many other things.
The researchers want the Ghana Minister of Health and the Health Service to ensure that national comprehensive abortion care guidelines are available and implemented in all health facilities.
Additionally, the government and non-governmental partners are being charged with continuing to expand access to safe and legal abortion services and post-abortion care by increasing the number of trained providers and approved facilities offering these services to reduce complications and deaths. of unsafe abortion.
