Civil society organisations are calling for the removal of obstacles to safe abortion.
They argued that despite abortion being criminalised in the country, unintended pregnancies among young women are still on the rise.
Steve Biko, the User Centered Design Advisor with Ipas Africa Alliance, called for an urgent solution.
“Almost half of all pregnancies in Kenya are unplanned, and 41 per cent of them end in abortion,” said Biko in a workshop that brought together several reproductive health rights activists and pharmacists.
Biko said that while abortion drugs are available in Kenya, the law still criminalises the procedure.
Pharmacies
“Currently in Kenya, medical abortion drugs have been enlisted in the essential drugs list, meaning that this has made them more available through different channels including clinics and in pharmacies,” he explained, calling on the government to rethink the law, and subject it to a review, to make it easier for young women to access safe abortion.
Diana Elima, a pharmacist operating in Nakuru, said that even as abortion remains illegal, pharmacists are dispensing Medication Abortion (MA) drugs.
“As a pharmacist, MA should be legalised because when you look at the current data, 49 per cent of women get unintended pregnancy, and out of those, 41 per cent end up doing MA, and now despite the government criminalising it, on the ground things are different,” she said, and noted that if they continue with the trend, the maternal mortality rate will continue increasing.
She added: “This group is usually financially challenged, and can’t even afford to procure contraceptives, and opt for MA to terminate the pregnancy,” she said.
