SRHR CONTEXT IN GHANA

In spite of the progress Ghana has made relative to other African countries and other developing regions of the world, a significant amount of investment is needed in the social and cultural space within the development spectrum. Significant challenges still exist around equality and equity of gender, economic and geographic exclusion, poverty and lack of vital information and education, legal and policy imperatives to transform people’s lives and empower them to know their rights and demand them. In the area of sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), Ghana has historically been a champion especially around family planning in the wake of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD 1994) as the chair of the Conference was a Ghanaian in the person of Prof. Fred T. Sai, an accomplished expert and advocate on SRHR. Generally, Ghana’s stance on SRHR is fairly progressive especially around areas such as girls’ and women’s rights, family planning, contraception and more importantly abortion. Ghana’s legal framework on abortion since 1985 permits abortion in cases of rape, incest, “defilement of female idiot”, and if the life or health of the woman is in danger due to the pregnancy or if there is a significant risk of severe abnormality of the foetus. Additionally, abortion can also be permitted if the mental health of the woman is considered. Mental health in these circumstances is not limited to psychiatric illness but, rather, is much broader and that considers the social and economic implications of a pregnancy on the woman’s wellbeing. This provision builds a firm ground for the woman to demand abortion services as her right choose. However, due to lack of awareness of Ghana’s abortion law, many people think it is illegal and therefore are afraid to seek safe and legal abortion services in government and accredited private health facilities. Many rather seek unsafe and illegal ways of pregnancy termination and this result in more than 1 in 10 pregnancy-related deaths in Ghana. Anecdotally, younger people find it difficult to seek abortion services due to cultural reasons. Many believe that abstinence must be the only choice that young people must stick to when it comes to exercising their sexuality. Therefore, when they get pregnant, they are forced to conceal the pregnancy and terminate it secretly, mostly through unsafe means. Also, due to social stigma associated with abortion, many women resort to underground unsafe means to abort their pregnancies. Almost half (45%) of abortions in Ghana remain unsafe (Guttmacher Institute, 2013). With the right strategies, the incidence of unsafe abortions will reduce significantly and young women will enjoy their full rights to own their own bodies and make their own sexual and reproductive choices. The intervention of CYIB-Curious Minds includes research, media advocacy, capacity building and social mobilization.