Youths from traditional authorities (T/As) Sitola and Mizinga in Machinga District have expressed concern over unsafe abortion cases in the district.
Speaking on Saturday during an awareness campaign on safe abortion, sexual and reproductive health rights and the Termination of Pregnancy Bill in Kolonjere Village in T/A Sitola, youth advocate Victor Kapito said cultural and religious beliefs are discouraging women and girls in the district from accessing contraceptives.
| Haneeph Maulana
“The awareness campaign seeks to sensitise community members about the situation on the ground and lobby for action to reverse the trend,” he said.
Another youth advocate, Sheila Juma, said the awareness campaign reignited calls for Parliament to deliberate on and adopt the Termination of Pregnancy Bill to help address unsafe abortion cases.
Machinga District Hospital post-abortion care coordinator Jacqueline Kaminyu said unsafe abortion has increased among young people in the district.
“The situation is concerning because we are seeing young girls suffer severe complications that could have been prevented through access to proper information and health services,” he said.
The campaign was organised by Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education under the Access to Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Services and Safe Abortion Advocacy Project, with funding from Amplify Change.
Meanwhile, assistant Assap project officer Gertrude Masebo said they trained youths from six T/As to advocate for reproductive health services.
Machinga District Hospital recorded 684 cases of unsafe abortions from January to March this year
