Unsafe Abortion and Women's Health by Colin Francome

Author:Colin Francome [Francome, Colin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General, Medical, Health Policy
ISBN: 9781317004219
Google: MdW1CwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-03-09T06:01:36+00:00

Malawi

The population of Malawi was estimated at 16.2 million in 2012. In 2011, life expectancy at birth was 52.3 years. The religion is 83 per cent Christian, 13 per cent Muslim and four per cent other or none (CIA 2012, p.452). In the year 2011 the birth rate was 40.4 per 1,000 and the death rate was 12.8.

The country became independent in 1964. Bakil Muluzi was in office from 1994 to 2004. He introduced far more open government and, for example, disclosed that his brother had died of HIV/AIDS. In 2004 a programme of action to combat HIV was introduced. Still in 2009 the adult prevalence was over one in ten (11 per cent) adults (CIA 2012, p. 452).

In 2013 the BBC reported that since 2007 there has been real progress towards economic growth and that the subsidy of fertilizers had boosted output. However, it also commented that rapid population growth has meant that an increase in production was needed to try and keep level. In 2011 the increase in population was 2.8 per cent and the average woman had 5.4 children – well over double the rate to maintain a stable population (CIA 2012, p. 453).

There have been efforts to tackle the problem of overpopulation. In 2000 the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey made some important findings. One was that 64 per cent of non-pregnant women who did not want children were nevertheless not using modern contraception. It did however, find that Depo-Provera had increased in usage from one per cent in 1992 to six per cent in 1996 and 16 per cent in 2000. This increase continued so that 27 per cent of women were using injectables in 2010. The overall increase in modern contraception was from 28 per cent in 2000 to 42 per cent in 2010. In 2012 the Vice President Khumbo Kachale promised to raise contraceptive prevalence to 60 per cent by 2020 and that there would be special efforts to ensure that teenagers did not get pregnant before adulthood. He recognized that would be a necessity for increased resources to be available (Nyasa Times 2012).

The gaps in contraceptive care led to a number of unwanted pregnancies. In 2009 a study by the Malawi Ministry of Health and the US-based organization IPAS, estimated that there were 70,000 unsafe abortions each year and that these were the cause of 17 per cent of maternal deaths. Kanyalika calculated that on an average day there were 12–16 maternal deaths and three or four deaths from unsafe abortion. She called for the government to find better ways of helping women (2013).

Seode White, an activist, commented that the poor could not afford a safe abortion and some of them suffered sterility as a consequence. Therefore, ‘It is high time Malawi takes a leaf from other African countries like Zambia and South Africa where abortion is legal’. There has been some concerted action on this front. In March 2013 the Gender, Children and Social Welfare minister Anita Kalinde, tabled the Gender

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