Availability, accessibility and utilization of post-abortion care in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abortion, Family Planning, Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
A systematic review
2019
As originally published in Healthcare for Women International, Dec. 19, 2019 (Taylor & Francis)
At a time of urgent calls for more evidence on the situation of abortion services globally (Faundes, 2012; Faundes, Rao, & Briozzo, 2009), the authors synthesize available research on the provision, utilization, and accessibility of post-abortion care (PAC) services in sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the following questions:
- What PAC services are provided in SSA, where, and by whom?
- What issues characterize the availability, provision, distribution, and
quality of PAC services in SSA? - What are the levels, dynamics, facilitators of, and barriers to the utilization
of PAC services in SSA? - What interventions have been implemented to improve access, utilization
and availability of PAC services in SSA, and what is their effectiveness?
Answers to these questions have potential to guide global action, including research, policy, and investments to address women’s risks for unsafe abortion wherever it still occurs.
International Center for Research on Women, Washington, D.C, USA; African Population & Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya; Centre for Public Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute – KEMRI, Nairobi, Kenya; Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.