Brief report of commemoration of 29th September

As part of SAVE-Ghana's activates to mark the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion; we organized a forum which brought together participants from NGOs, IPAS, and the Ghana Health Service with a huge media presence including TV, radio, and print and online in Accra, Ghana's capital on the 29th September.

As part of his welcome address, the executive director of SAVE-Ghana, Kingsley Kanton mentioned that he has monitored the papers since the beginning of September and proud to say there has been a lot of advocacy on maternal health from various groups and individuals ranging from NGOs, researchers and individuals including one from the first lady Mrs Lordina Mahama on African first ladies to work at reducing maternal and new-born deaths made at sidelines of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. He said that while we all agree that silence is unacceptable, 'too much talk too does not buy a horse', an adage; and that much action needs to done to secure the future of our own mothers.

He also added that access to safe and legal abortions isn't just a healthcare issue critical for achieving MDG's 4 & 5 but it's a human rights issue and also essential indicators that affect the other goals such as reducing poverty, improving educational attainment of girls and gender equality.

He said that the fact that 11% of maternal mortality is due to unsafe abortions and 45% of abortions are unsafe is unacceptable as Ghana loses too many young women full of hopes and dreams because of unsafe abortion. He further added that in the next three years SAVE-Ghana we will as part of its partnership with SAAF continue to sensitize the public on the dangers of unsafe abortion in partnership with our traditional authorities; build on the training given to midwives in partnership with Ghana Health service on CAC for them to adopt a positive attitude in their work.

To end this, he called on the government:
1. To speed up the implementation of the 2000 adolescent reproductive health policy which talks about right to services and information by the inclusion of comprehensive abortion care services in the National Health Insurance Scheme as the measure that guarantee every girl and woman their right to choose what is best at any time that matches their situation and place in their lives.

2. To amend the Ghana Abortion Law (1985) to make way for the huge numbers of women seeking the service under situations not permitted under the current law.

3. He finally called on the Ghana Education Service to include sexual reproductive health issues in the curriculum of both basic and second cycle institutions.

He said that, it is only in this that he sees the end of would be mothers dyeing in sight and that there is NO SHAME in having an abortion; it is to look ahead and leap forward; that the Only SHAME is in bringing an unwanted child into the world.

On her part, the deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Gloria Quansah Asare, said that the service has been working at preventing unwanted pregnancies through family planning counselling and Services; managing abortion complications; creating public awareness of the dangers of unsafe abortion. She added that as part of their education 42,910 women who received abortion care were counseled on family planning and 22, 478 accepted modern methods for use following the abortion procedure.

She thanked SAVE-Ghana for its efforts at reducing the numerous maternal deaths due to the crude methods lots of women use in terminating pregnancies including; drinking poisons/harmful substances; taking dangerous doses of over the counter drugs; inflicting physical abuse among others and pledged her support to working with SAVE-Ghana to reduce stigma from health professionals and improve access to services in the coming years.