THE Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is planning to investigate reports that a controversial Dutch non-governmental organization, Women on Waves, is promoting local abortions despite the fact that there is a law against it in this country.
The chief medical officer (CMO) in the ministry, Dr Deo Mtasiwa, asserted in an interview with THISDAY in Dar es Salaam yesterday that since abortions are still considered an illegal practice, the government is taking these latest reports very seriously.
Said Dr Mtasiwa: I think you have given me a useful tip since I was unaware of the activities of this particular NGO. We will investigate the matter and take appropriate action once we have verified the truth behind it.
He clarified that abortions in Tanzania can be carried out only in inevitable and spontaneous cases, after being prescribed by medical doctors.
An abortion is only allowed if doctors have proved it is necessary to save the life of an expectant mother, and in cases of miscarriages where it is done to cleanse the expectant mother of any post-miscarriage remnants in the body, Dr Mtasiwa said.
He noted that technological advancement has played a great role in the carrying out of safe abortions globally, but emphasized that the practice remains illegal in Tanzania.
But the health ministry's CMO also conceded that he is aware of illegal abortions being carried out regularly in the country.
It is true that illegal abortions are being undertaken in secret all over the country, and the parties involved don't make it public. Therefore, the ministry can hardly work on such cases without cooperation from members of the public, he stated.
Women on Waves is said to deploy often radical methods to increase global awareness and access to safe abortion, with a focus on medical abortion using the drug 'Misoprostol.'
The NGO says on its website that it has just concluded a 'Training of Trainers' conference somewhere in rural Tanzania, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi.
The conference participants included Tanzanians, Congolese, Rwandans, and Burundians. They were coached in various activities including how to find and keep 'Misoprostol' in pharmacies; how to use it safely for first-trimester abortion; what to do in case of complications; and how to train others with the information.
It is understood that this is all being done without the government's official knowledge.
In 2007, 'Misoprostol' was registered in Tanzania as a drug to stop postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) - the loss of blood after delivery. PPH is the leading cause of maternal mortality in Tanzania and across the globe, commonly due to lack of affordable and accessible medical care. Pharmaceutical companies and women's health groups across Tanzania have been running awareness campaigns to equip Tanzanian pharmacies with 'Misoprostol' for PPH.
But according to Women on Waves: Few people in Tanzania know that this drug can safely induce abortion, if taken off-label in the appropriate dosage.
The NGO was hopeful on its website that information on the carrying out of abortions through pills in Tanzania will travel virally across the country...to parallel the awareness campaigns by pharmaceutical companies.
Abortion is prohibited by law in Tanzania (except to save the mothers life or health), leading many pregnant women and girls to depend on rank amateurs who may deploy tactics like prescribing herbs and other concoctions, pummeling bellies, or inserting objects vaginally.
Infections, bleeding, and punctures of the uterus or bowel can result, and be fatal. Proper doctors treating women after these bungled attempts sometimes have no choice but to remove the uterus altogether.
Worldwide, there are 19 million unsafe abortions a year, and they kill 70,000 women (accounting for 13 per cent of maternal deaths), mostly in poor countries like Tanzania where abortion is illegal, according to the World Health Organization.
Although reliable figures on abortions in Tanzania are hard to come by, WHO reports that the eastern Africa region as a whole has the worlds second-highest rate of unsafe abortions (only South America is higher). And Africa as a whole has the highest proportion of teenagers 25 per cent among women having unsafe abortions.
Abortion legislation in the United Republic of Tanzania is based on the English Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act of 1929. Under the Revised Penal Code of Tanzania, the performance of abortions is generally prohibited.
Any person who, with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman, whether she is pregnant or not, unlawfully uses any means upon her, is subject to 14 years imprisonment.
A pregnant woman who undertakes the same act with respect to her own pregnancy or permits it to be undertaken is subject to seven years imprisonment. Any person who supplies anything whatsoever knowing that it is intended to be unlawfully used to procure the miscarriage of a woman, is subject to three years imprisonment.
Women on Waves describes itself as a Dutch non-profit organization concerned with women's human rights. Its mission is to prevent unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions throughout the world.
Source: ThisDay
The chief medical officer (CMO) in the ministry, Dr Deo Mtasiwa, asserted in an interview with THISDAY in Dar es Salaam yesterday that since abortions are still considered an illegal practice, the government is taking these latest reports very seriously.
Said Dr Mtasiwa: I think you have given me a useful tip since I was unaware of the activities of this particular NGO. We will investigate the matter and take appropriate action once we have verified the truth behind it.
He clarified that abortions in Tanzania can be carried out only in inevitable and spontaneous cases, after being prescribed by medical doctors.
An abortion is only allowed if doctors have proved it is necessary to save the life of an expectant mother, and in cases of miscarriages where it is done to cleanse the expectant mother of any post-miscarriage remnants in the body, Dr Mtasiwa said.
He noted that technological advancement has played a great role in the carrying out of safe abortions globally, but emphasized that the practice remains illegal in Tanzania.
But the health ministry's CMO also conceded that he is aware of illegal abortions being carried out regularly in the country.
It is true that illegal abortions are being undertaken in secret all over the country, and the parties involved don't make it public. Therefore, the ministry can hardly work on such cases without cooperation from members of the public, he stated.
Women on Waves is said to deploy often radical methods to increase global awareness and access to safe abortion, with a focus on medical abortion using the drug 'Misoprostol.'
The NGO says on its website that it has just concluded a 'Training of Trainers' conference somewhere in rural Tanzania, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi.
The conference participants included Tanzanians, Congolese, Rwandans, and Burundians. They were coached in various activities including how to find and keep 'Misoprostol' in pharmacies; how to use it safely for first-trimester abortion; what to do in case of complications; and how to train others with the information.
It is understood that this is all being done without the government's official knowledge.
In 2007, 'Misoprostol' was registered in Tanzania as a drug to stop postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) - the loss of blood after delivery. PPH is the leading cause of maternal mortality in Tanzania and across the globe, commonly due to lack of affordable and accessible medical care. Pharmaceutical companies and women's health groups across Tanzania have been running awareness campaigns to equip Tanzanian pharmacies with 'Misoprostol' for PPH.
But according to Women on Waves: Few people in Tanzania know that this drug can safely induce abortion, if taken off-label in the appropriate dosage.
The NGO was hopeful on its website that information on the carrying out of abortions through pills in Tanzania will travel virally across the country...to parallel the awareness campaigns by pharmaceutical companies.
Abortion is prohibited by law in Tanzania (except to save the mothers life or health), leading many pregnant women and girls to depend on rank amateurs who may deploy tactics like prescribing herbs and other concoctions, pummeling bellies, or inserting objects vaginally.
Infections, bleeding, and punctures of the uterus or bowel can result, and be fatal. Proper doctors treating women after these bungled attempts sometimes have no choice but to remove the uterus altogether.
Worldwide, there are 19 million unsafe abortions a year, and they kill 70,000 women (accounting for 13 per cent of maternal deaths), mostly in poor countries like Tanzania where abortion is illegal, according to the World Health Organization.
Although reliable figures on abortions in Tanzania are hard to come by, WHO reports that the eastern Africa region as a whole has the worlds second-highest rate of unsafe abortions (only South America is higher). And Africa as a whole has the highest proportion of teenagers 25 per cent among women having unsafe abortions.
Abortion legislation in the United Republic of Tanzania is based on the English Offences Against the Person Act of 1861 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act of 1929. Under the Revised Penal Code of Tanzania, the performance of abortions is generally prohibited.
Any person who, with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman, whether she is pregnant or not, unlawfully uses any means upon her, is subject to 14 years imprisonment.
A pregnant woman who undertakes the same act with respect to her own pregnancy or permits it to be undertaken is subject to seven years imprisonment. Any person who supplies anything whatsoever knowing that it is intended to be unlawfully used to procure the miscarriage of a woman, is subject to three years imprisonment.
Women on Waves describes itself as a Dutch non-profit organization concerned with women's human rights. Its mission is to prevent unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortions throughout the world.
Source: ThisDay
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