A lobby has decried what it termed as increased cases of unsafe abortion-related deaths among girls and women in the Nairobi slums.
Women Collective Kenya NGO said the rates of teenage girls and women dying while attempting abortions in the city’s informal settlements were worrying, hence the need for urgent intervention by key partners and relevant authorities.
“This makes abortion and access to safe and legal abortion alongside abortion politics to be a class issue. Not all women are able to access safe abortion. Women dying due to unsafe abortion are those from poor backgrounds, uneducated, and lack information,” the organisation’s representative Ruth Mumbi said.
Mumbi spoke to the Star at Mathare slum in Nairobi on Sunday. Mumbi said the slums with high rates of unsafe abortion-related deaths included Kawangware, Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho, Mukuru Kwa Njenga and Mukuru Kwa Ruben.
The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights advocates reaffirmed their commitment to promotion and protection of abortion rights in the country.
They urged President William Ruto’s administration to protect and uphold safe abortion care as a fundamental human right.
“In solidarity with the African women and adolescent girls in all their diversities, we join voices to affirm that safe abortion care is a fundamental human right that must be protected and upheld,” Mumbi said.
Mumbi said as sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates, they won’t relent on amplifying their voices and re-energize efforts towards the realisation of the shared objective of advocating for the removal of restrictive laws and policies and promotion of access to safe abortion care as an essential reproductive health service.
She said they were committed to contributing to the reduced cases of unsafe abortion-related deaths among girls and women not only in Kenya but in Africa.
Africa according to Guttmacher, 2020, has the highest rate of abortion-related deaths in the world at 185 maternal deaths per 100, abortions.
More than 77 per cent of abortions are estimated to be unsafe, and approximately 6.2 million unsafe abortions occur annually. Mumbi said the devastating impact on women and adolescent girls, including severe health complications and preventable death, is undeniable.
“Revise the existing criminal and other laws regulating abortion to comply with the commitments outlined under the Maputo Protocol to ensure broader access to safe abortion services without any legal or administrative barriers,” Mumbi told the state.
Mumbi said the state should adopt, disseminate, and implement comprehensive, evidence-based guidelines that support healthcare providers in delivering safe abortion and post-abortion care.
She said efforts should also be made to remove any legal or policy restrictions that impede healthcare providers’ ability to provide safe abortion and post-abortion care services.
“Provide accurate and non-judgmental information on SRHR, including access to safe abortion care for all women and adolescent girls in their diversities. Undertake comprehensive public awareness and education initiatives aimed at addressing and dismantling the stigma surrounding abortion and explicitly addressing the pervasive misinformation and stigma surrounding this critical reproductive health service,” Mumbi added.
Mumbi told the government to bolster healthcare infrastructure and capacity to ensure the provision of comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including safe abortion and post-abortion care, particularly in underserved and rural communities.
“Lend full and sustained support to the provision of safe abortion services to ensure that they become accessible, available, affordable, and of quality for all women and adolescent girls in all their diversities,” Mumbi said.