Tanzania: Maternal Mortality Due to Unsafe Termination of Pregnancy Needs Resilient Solutions- WGNRR Africa & Stakeholders

By Prosper Makene

Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights Africa (WGNRR AFRICA), a grassroots-led feminist network said that the human cost of unsafe termination of pregnancy and the health system cost to manage complications from unsafe termination of pregnancy are significant and they needs much attention.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam during the Movement Strengthening Workshop organized by WGNRR AFRICA to stakeholders and journalists, the Regional Director of WGNRR Africa, Nondo Ejano said:

“Unsafe termination of pregnancy is contributing up to 19% of maternal deaths in Tanzania while the health  care for managing complications from unsafe termination of pregnancy is  costing the government’s health system 10.4/- billion (nearly US$4.5 million) per year. These human and financial costs can be largely avoidable and, this can free up resources to be spent elsewhere.”

Ejano noted: the 2015-16 Demographic and Health Survey indicates that Tanzania has one of the highest mortality rate “maternal mortality ratio in Tanzania is 556 per 100,000 live births, and the Guttmarcher & MUHAS report on the magnitude of unsafe abortion in 2013, shows that  19 percent of maternal deaths in the country are due to complications from unsafe abortions. The Guttmacher and MUHAS report on the health system cost of post-abortion care in Tanzania, 2018,  19% of these deaths are due to complications from unsafe abortion. The report stipulates that

an estimated 77,814 women in Tanzania receive Post Abortion Care every year while an additional 114,272 women need this care but do not receive it. Meeting all women’s need for Post Abortion Care in the country, government would spend up to 25.7/- billion  (around US$11 million) annually.

He further said that the government of URT is very committed to improving access to life-saving Post Abortion Care services, as a means of reducing maternal mortality but there is a need for the state and all stakeholders to join forces to make our efforts more preventive than reactionary. One of the preventive efforts would be to extend the ground for safe termination of pregnancy for the victims of rape, incest, and sexual assault as stipulated in Article 14, 2c of th Maputo protocol that Tanzania has ratified without reservation.

The Legal and Human Rights Center (LHRC) assessment indicates that sexual violence was the most common form of violence against women and Children (VAWC) that occurred in Tanzania in 2022. Between 2017 to 2021, Police statistics on violence against children  show that a total of 70,997 incidents of VAC were reported at police stations, averaging 14,199 each year, ( this is an average of 1,183 incidents each month, and 39 incidents each day); and 5,899 children (girls) were raped in 2021, averaging 491 child rape incidents each month. We are also aware of so many cases of incests and sexual assaults occurring in different corners of the country. These increasing criminal acts are likely to shoot the number of unwanted pregnancies which are likely to end up in unsafe termination because the current legal framework do not provide a room for the victims of these inhuman acts to access safe services to terminate these pregnancies resulting from  criminal acts.

He went on to say that the collective commitments from stakeholders are needed to support the government’s efforts to avoid both human and financial costs of unsafe abortion in the country.

Speaking at the sideline of the workshop, the Union of Tanzania Press Clubs (UTPC) Executive Director Keneth Simbaya said: “In our country, the penal code explicitly states that termination of pregnancy is legally permitted if it is performed to save a woman’s life. However, we need to amend the current abortion law to expand access to safe termination for victims of rape, incests, and sexual assaults  to preserve their  physical or mental health.

The UTPC Executive Director concludes: “The government has the the responsibility to  protect the reproductive rights of all women, including those who are victims of these acts of violence.

On her part, WGNRR AFRICA’s Official Advocate Walter Carlos said that WGNRR AFRICA’s work is to connect and strengthens movements for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights  and justice in Africa. “We strive  to ensure women in their diversity fulfill their right to make own and informed decision on reproductive matters, free from coercion, discrimination and violence.”

She underscored that today, WGNRR AFRICA has brought together partners working in the GBV and SRHR fields to identify and address the gaps and harmonise their strategies in their approaches of advocating for women and children’s rights in Tanzania in order to strengthen their voice and build an intersectional movement that holistically influence social change.