18% maternal deaths linked to unsafe abortion
Directorate of Health director Juliana Kanyengambeta has said 18 percent of the country’s maternal deaths are attributed to unsafe abortions.
Currently, Malawi’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is at 381 deaths per 100 000 live births.
Addressing members of Parliament in Lilongwe yesterday, she said unsafe abortions are procured in secret and as a result, most women seek abortion care too late.
In her presentation, Kanyengambeta said the current law, which criminalises abortion, does not serve to prevent unsafe abortion but rather discriminates its procurement based on poverty lines.
She said: “The women don’t seek safe medical care until it is too late to save them. This figure has been constant for the past 10 years, and it is draining huge amounts of resources from the health budget to save lives of those at risk due to the abortion implications.”
The meeting was organised by the Parliament of Malawi in conjunction with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health with the aim of analysing existing laws and policies that protect the health rights of women, children and adolescents.
According to Kanyengambeta, 15 percent of all maternal deaths in the country are adolescents.
She said: “Adolescent pregnancies are high risk pregnancies and can lead to fatal complications even if not aborted.”
In his contribution, Mulanje Bale MP Victor Musowa said Parliament makes laws for the people and every time they engage in the formulation of laws such as the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, there is a lot of noise coming from outside Parliament.
He said: “We need to engage the people more in the process. I think that there is a need to engage them in an open manner and hear their voices on this matter.”
Machinga South East legislator Fyness Magonjwa agreed that one of the challenges with the enactment of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, widely known as Abortion Bill, is that there have not been thorough consultations.
The Maputo Protocol is one of the areas that has gradually been improving as Malawi is now providing 13 percent out of the required 15 percent requirement of the total annual national budget.
This puts Malawi on position two behind South Africa.
