She Makes Her Safe Choice

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Background

Each year, an estimated 2,500 to 44,000 women die of unsafe abortion worldwide, making it one of the leading causes of maternal mortality (8%-13%). Of the women who survive unsafe abortions, 5 million more each year will suffer long-term serious health complications. Moreover, women face financial burdens (transportation, cost of unsafe procedure, treatment of complications, loss of income) and social stigma (judgment from others and self-judgment, isolation, and community condemnation) of an unsafe abortion.

In partnership under She Makes Her Safe Choice, Rutgers and DKT International want to realize the dream of “No more unsafe abortions worldwide” by making safe abortion widely available and accessible for those in need through the provision of Manual Vacuum Aspiration kits (MVA) and Medical Abortion (MA), and by preventing unintended pregnancies through increased use of effective contraception and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and options in a more supportive national policy and legal environment.

Objectives

Rutgers leads the Project’s overall approach in partnership with Ipas Africa Alliance , DKT International, Shujaaz Inc and RHNK focusing on three pillars: The Supply, Demand, and Support of safe abortion methods.

The involvement of Ipas Africa Alliance is essential in the Project’s interventions in Kenya.

Under the pillar of Supply, the involvement of Ipas Africa Alliance is aimed at making safe abortion care more accessible by training DKT Kenya providers and pharmacists.
Under the pillar of Demand, Ipas Africa Alliance will focus on supporting Shujaaz Inc in developing content to create demand for safe abortion and family planning by:
- informing women and girls of the risks associated with unsafe abortions and emphasizing the availability of safe abortion options within the specific national legal context.
- promoting the use of modern contraceptive methods.
Under the pillar of Support, Ipas Africa Alliance involvement aims at advocacy at various levels to create support for a more supportive environment for safe and legal abortion.

The Project empowers women (and their partners) to make informed decisions on where and how to access safe abortion and contraceptives information and services, so that they can have children by choice, not by chance. The Project ensures that these contraceptive options are widely available, accessible, and affordable.