Regional civil society organizations gathered in Kigali for a two-day conference to discuss, share and foster partnerships on access to safe abortion and sexual and reproductive health.

The conference was organized by a coalition of Health Development Initiative (HDI), Great Lakes Initiative for Human Rights and Development (GLIHD), Ihorere Munyarwanda (IMRO) and Rwanda NGO Forum on HIV/AIDS and Health Promotion ( RNGOF on HIV/AIDS & HP).

Sponsored by Amplify, the conference took place on Thursday and Friday of last week.

Attended by CSO members from Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and DR Congo.

This comes at a time when the long-awaited Sexual and Reproductive Health Bill, which has been in the regional parliament for years now, has been tabled.

At the official opening of the conference, HDI Executive Director Dr. Aflodis Kagaba said participants from different countries were converging to learn from each other and to share best practices, challenges and how best to countries in the region can form partnerships to advance reproductive health rights, but more specifically, the provision of safe abortions.

“If we are talking about safe abortion, it is obvious that all our countries are not at the same level. We have countries where GBV is still high, where safe abortion is still treated as a taboo subject. We must work together and ensure that no one dies in our region due to lack of access to safe abortion,” he said.

A 2015 report released by the New York-based Guttmacher Institute in partnership with the University of Rwanda School of Public Health and the Ministry of Health indicates that approximately 18,000 women and girls in Rwanda need treatment every year for the effects of unsafe abortion.

According to the Ministry of Health, this number is estimated at around 24,000.

The Guttmacher Institute report said that around 60,000 abortions are performed in Rwanda each year and that the government spends $1.7 million (Rwf 1.1 billion) per year on treating complications resulting from abortion. unsafe abortion.

The report does not indicate the financial cost of unsafe abortions and their consequences on the women who seek them.

Kagaba encouraged participants to share the knowledge and expertise they have to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in their countries.

“We have different sets of skills and ideas, and we want to exchange our experiences and intensify our partnership through common strategies, research and advocacy methodologies. Let’s use this conference to learn what each of us is doing in the areas of SRHR and access to safe abortion and how we can foster partnerships that can help us do even better,” he said. added.

Commenting on the issue, Fortunate Kagumaho, the Communications Coordinator of Reproductive Health Uganda demonstrated some of the SRHR inequalities still present in his country, more specifically in cases of access to safe abortion.

He said that in Uganda, 16 women die every day due to pregnancy-related complications and of these deaths, eight percent are the result of unsafe abortion.

“If you put 16 women in a car every day and it breaks down, it would be a national problem. So why is this happening in Uganda, and no one is saying anything? he wondered.

He stressed that the high number of unsafe abortions should be a matter of concern as it contradicts the commitments made when countries signed on to achieve Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals which states that countries will ensure good health and The well-being.

Another participant from Burundi, Pierre Claver Ndayizeye, Executive Director of the Burundian Alliance Against AIDS and for the Promotion of Health (ABS), admitted that his country is still lagging behind in the provision of health services. safe abortion to women who need it. .

“If you look at other countries, we [Burundians] are still late. A pregnant woman in our country is not allowed to have an abortion unless the pregnancy seriously endangers the physical health of the woman. Abortion is punishable by imprisonment and a fine. It applies to rape or anything else. If you abort, you are punished,” he said.

Participants discussed their country’s abortion laws which mostly allow abortion to save a woman’s life, in case of fatal abnormality, rape and incest, or in some cases like Uganda, where the woman is HIV positive.

However, the consensus within the discussions is that in most countries in the region, there are still issues of inconsistency in the way existing abortion laws and policies are interpreted by judicial systems, which makes it difficult for women and the medical community to understand. when abortion is allowed.

Lobbying for the EAC Sexual and Reproductive Health Bill

The conference comes as parliamentarians from the East African Legislative Assembly prepare the EAC Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Bill.

The bill will require each partner state to include sex education in school curricula and define the roles of religious and community leaders in providing SRHR information and services, among other provisions.

Mwikali Kivuvani, executive director of the Sexual Alliance for Reproduction in Kenya, said conference participants could agree on the provisions of the bill before it comes back to parliament.

“Looking at the EAC Sexual Reproductive Health Bill which is currently before the EALA, this conference is crucial because if there are disagreements among member states. Chances are it won’t be enacted. We have a chance here to make sure we agree on every provision before it is enacted,” she noted.

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