In this section
Unsafe abortion remains a significant global health crisis, with an estimated 25 million unsafe abortions occurring annually, making it a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity.1
Making Abortion Safe (2020-2024)
In 2020, the RCOG launched the Making Abortion Safe (MAS) programme in collaboration with sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) champions in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Nigeria and Rwanda, to work to address this critical issue. Through training healthcare providers, advocating for change in policy and practice, supporting the development and update of clinical guidance and developing educational resources, the MAS programme has empowered healthcare providers to advocate for increased access to quality abortion and post-abortion care services, while building capacity for long-term change.
Watch our video to hear MAS champions explain the crucial role of the Making Abortion Safe programme
Key impact highlights
Educating healthcare professionals
The MAS programme enabled nearly 3,000 healthcare professionals to access online learning resources about abortion and post-abortion care. These resources, available for free, have equipped providers with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver safe, high-quality care and supported educators to teach on abortion care.
Collaborative advocacy and champion engagement
The programme worked with 60 MAS champions across five African countries (Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Nigeria), supporting the implementation of national advocacy plans in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Rwanda. These champions lead efforts to advocate for safe abortion policies, update national abortion care guidelines, conduct medical curricula audits, mobilise communities and improve access to services.
Developing and updating clinical guidelines
The MAS programme promoted excellence in abortion care by developing and updating best practice papers on key topics such as abortion, post-abortion care, telemedicine abortion and post-abortion contraception. These guidelines have been tailored to local contexts and viewed over 10,000 times globally, ensuring relevance and accessibility for healthcare professionals in diverse settings.
Research and addressing stigma
The programme expanded the evidence base on the stigma faced by healthcare professionals providing abortion care, through a global survey of 1,675 providers. It produced valuable resources and tools aimed at supporting providers and professional societies to reduce stigma, ensuring that providers can deliver care without fear of discrimination, and collaborated with champions to develop papers for academic publication, contributing to the growing body of global literature on abortion stigma.
Supporting policy influence and advocacy
The MAS programme capitalised on the RCOG’s position as a leader in women’s health to advocate internationally for increased access to quality abortion care, bringing diverse healthcare provider voices to these platforms and giving them access to advocacy spaces, where their expertise and frontline experience can inform policy and practice. This has empowered healthcare providers to influence change at national and global levels.
Professional development for early-career researchers
A bespoke workshop series was conducted for early-career African researchers with an interest in abortion care. The workshops focused on developing grant-writing skills, and grants were awarded to researchers in Sierra Leone to conduct post-abortion care research. These efforts ensure that new generations of researchers are equipped to continue advancing safe abortion practices.
Resources:
- Best Practice Papers
- RCOG and FSRH Safe abortion key messages
- Making Abortion Safe RCOG eLearning Courses (abortion care and abortion advocacy)
- Making Abortion Safe abortion summary sheets (downloadable at the end of each tutorial) - link
- Making Abortion Safe stigma guidance paper
- Best Practice Paper adaption
- Self-managed abortion - April 2023
- Self-managed abortion (Spanish) - April 2023
- Self-managed abortion (French) - April 2023
- Self-managed abortion (Arabic) - April 2023
References
1: Ganatra B., Gerdts C., Rossier C., Johnson Jr B.R., Tuncalp Ö., Assifi A., Sedgh G., Singh S., Bankole A., Popinchalk A., Bearak J., Kang Z., Alkema L. Global, regional, and subregional classification of abortions by safety, 2010–14: estimates from a Bayesian hierarchical model. The Lancet. 2017