Director of Medical Affairs at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Ali Samba, has cited unsafe abortions as one of the major contributing factors of high maternal deaths in the country.
He stated that complications from unsafe abortions contribute immensely to Ghana’s high maternal mortality rate which is estimated at 310 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2017.
Dr Ali Samba made the comment when he spoke at a round table discussion organised by DKT international Ghana in partnership with DKT WomanCare on the use of Manual Vacuum Aspirators (MVA) for safe abortions in Ghana.
Dr Samba stated that a little over half of all pregnancies recorded in the country is unplanned.
He lamented that a lot of women in their quest to terminate these pregnancies resort to unsafe methods as a result of stigmatisation.
“According to the Ghana Statistical Service, almost 1 in 6 (15%) of women in reproductive age in Ghana have had an unsafe abortion (GSS, 2016), with almost 1/3 of women in rural areas who go through abortion using illegal and non-medical methods (GMHS, 2017). Between 4.7% – 13.2% of maternal deaths recorded each year can be attributed to unsafe abortion. 30 women die for every 100,000 unsafe abortions in developed regions. The number rises to 220 deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions in developing regions, and 520 deaths per 100,000 unsafe abortions in sub-Saharan Africa,†he added.
Dr Samba was of the opinion that women should be allowed to decide on keeping their pregnancies or not and society should also be ready to accept the decision that these women make.
He also advocated and encouraged the provision of safe and legal abortions for all women.
Abortions are legal in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality or disease, or “defilement of a female imbecile,†or if they are performed to protect physical or mental health; they must be provided by registered and trained health personnel in an approved facility according to the provisions of Act 29, Criminal Offenses Act, 1960, Sections 58 and 67.