For International Safe Abortion Day (ISAD), marked on 28 September, the 10 national member societies FIGO supports through its Advocating for Safe Abortion Project developed educational activities and awareness-raising campaigns in their countries and communities.
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In a year that saw access to reproductive health services diminish due to COVID-19 and associated restrictions, International Women’s Day 2021 provided a welcome opportunity to reflect on, learn about and advocate for important women’s health topics, including access to safe abortion. Unsafe abortion remains a huge cause of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity.
The World Health Organization estimates that around 13% of maternal deaths are attributable to unsafe abortion, and that around 3 in every 4 abortions in Africa and Latin America are unsafe. According to the 2011 Demographic Health Survey, unsafe abortion was a leading cause of preventable maternal death in Mozambique, one of ten countries in FIGO’s Advocating Safe Abortion Project. In order to reverse this dramatic situation that affects girls and women, the new Penal Code of 2014 was approved (law Nr 35/2014 of December 31st), that was revised in 2019 (Law Nr 24/2019 of December 24th), which included,