According to statistics made available to mywordsonline.com, by the Upper Regional Health Directorate, about 220 women and 30 women die for every 100,000 unsafe abortions in developing and developed regions respectively.
Despite global efforts to decline material mortality, Ghana is still battling with access to maternal health services.
At a regional campaign lunch to fight unsafe abortion in Bolgatanga the Upper East Regional Director of health services, Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi revealed that unsafe abortion contributed significantly to maternal mortality.
He also noted that between 2019 to 2021, about 647 cases of abortion were reported and 25 cases of post-abortion complications were reported in various health facilities in the Upper East region alone.
More than half of these abortions were incomplete abortions reported to the health facilities within the same period according to data collected from the health facilities in the region.
“Three per cent of maternal deaths in our region are directly liked to unsafe abortion while nine per cent of maternal death are due to unsafe abortion.- The report stated.
World Health Organisation defines unsafe abortion as ” a procedure for terminating unwanted pregnancy either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards or both” while abortion is the ” loss of pregnancy before the fetus incapable of extra-uterine life”.
Extra-eternal life in Ghana is 28 weeks beyond which it is illegal to have an abortion unless on health grounds or other legally permitted reasons.
The report further indicated that each year between 4.7 to 13.2 per cent of maternal death can be attributed to unsafe abortion.
Complications due to unsafe abortion include pelvic sepsis, septicaemia, haemorrhage, renal failure, uterine perforation and other genital tract injuries, and gastro-intestinal tract injuries. Where expert, an emergency treatment for these is not available, women die.
It is against this backdrop that just last month the Upper East regional health directorate launched a campaign to end the practice. The campaign is dubbed, ” Zero tolerance for maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion.
The regional director of health, Dr. Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi services in his official communication at the lunch empathised on the need for an urgent and consented effort must be harnessed the end the practice of unsafe abortion.
This campaign is geared toward reducing the incidence of unsafe abortion thus ending maternal mortality which is related to unsafe abortion.
Source: mywordfmonline.com/ Adekurah Wisdom