Youth advocacy organisation Young Voices Organisation has called for the quick implementation of post-abortion care guidelines (Pac) as directed by the High Court of Malawi in October 2025.
The call comes after the organisation offered to fund intensive psychological counselling for a 15-year-old rape survivor whose case highlighted gaps in the provision of comprehensive care to survivors of sexual violence.
Nation on Sunday published the story in June this year, which detailed that while the rape survivor received treatment for physical injuries at Mtimabi Health Centre in Mangochi after the ordeal, she was discharged without a psychiatric assessment or specialised trauma counselling despite expressing suicidal thoughts.
In an interview, Young Voices Organisation programmes manager Emmanuel Namponya noted that the guidelines will victims to receive the much needed post-abortion care support.
“The review is important in ensuring that survivors of sexual violence, particularly children, receive comprehensive, rights-based healthcare without delays or uncertainty among healthcare workers. Victims of rape and defilement victims are suffering in silence,” he said.
The High Court of Malawi last year directed the Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Health and Malawi Human Rights Commission, among other stakeholders, to review the Pac guidelines within 180 days to address uncertainties affecting healthcare providers.
However, the 180 days deadline expired in April this year, a situation that has raised concern among stakeholders, with Parliamentary Committee on Health chairperson Anthony Masamba saying the delay is affecting access to lawful reproductive health services, particularly for minors who survive sexual violence.
In an interview, Masamba said: “Recent statistics underscore the urgency; over 4 000 teenage pregnancies were recorded in Mchinji in the first quarter of 2026. Kasungu registered more than 5 000 pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 19 in just five months.
“Nationally, teenage pregnancy prevalence has risen to 32 percent. Beyond numbers, the human impact is devastating. Each delay in implementing the court’s directive perpetuates this harm.”
Last month, a girl whose court victory affirmed the reproductive rights of child survivors of sexual violence wrote Attorney General Frank Mbeta expressing her intention to start contempt of court proceedings against Minister of Health and Sanitation Madalitso Baloyi and Principal Secretary Dan Namarika.
Through her lawyers, Mlauzi Legal Solutions, the girl contends that despite the expiry of the 180-day compliance period, the ministry was yet to implement the court’s directives, thereby frustrating a judgement intended to protect vulnerable children and uphold their constitutional rights.
High Court Judge Mike Tembo clarified in a judgement last year that Malawi’s existing legal framework, including the Gender Equality Act, permits access to safe abortion for minors who become pregnant as a result of sexual violence and directed the government to revise national clinical guidelines to reflect that legal position.
CAPTION
Namponya: The review is important
