Editorial Breaking the Silence on Prevention of Unsafe Abortion in Africa

It is estimated that nearly 70,000 women die annually from the complications of unsafe abortion around the world. Over 69,000 of these deaths occur in developing countries while 23,000 occur in sub-Saharan African countries alone, representing an estimated 680 deaths per 100,000 abortion procedures1,2 in Africa. Apart from the sheer numbers of deaths in Africa, many women suffer long-term complications including infertility, chronic pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancies. The consequences of these losses and sufferings to individuals, families and communities are manifold, and are a recurrent decimal in the poor reproductive health statistics coming from many African countries. Despite the severe effects and consequences of unsafe abortion in Africa, there has remained an unmitigated silence at all levels regarding the need to do something to reduce the scale of the problem. Abortion having for long been regarded as a sensitive issue, many African governments and leaders have simply refused to speak about it for fear of losing political or social support in their communities. The situation has become worse with the recent gag rule imposed by the United States, as it has had the effect of also gagging civil society response to unsafe abortion in Africa. Many African countries, being dependent on donor support from the United States for their reproductive health projects, are fearful of the consequences of withdrawal of such support should they meddle in the terrain of programming on unsafe abortion