Project profile — Increasing Access to Safe Abortion and Contraception in Central America and Africa

This project aims to improve comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women and adolescent girls in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Nigeria and Zambia. The project also seeks to strengthen social and political support for, and improve access to, high quality, safe and legal abortion and contraceptive services for women and adolescent girls. Project activities include: (1) providing training and support for journalists to promote balanced media coverage and reporting on SRHR; (2) providing training for law enforcement agents to increase their understanding and promote attitude transformation regarding SRHR, unsafe abortion and abortion laws; (3) partnering with civil society to conduct community-based trainings on SRHR with key groups including faith leaders, women's groups, and youth groups; and (4) providing support and supplies to health facilities to increase the availability of comprehensive safe and legal abortion and contraceptive services.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved enabling environment for women and adolescent girls to uphold their sexual and reproductive health and rights, particularly in regard to safe and legal abortion, contraception, and care for survivors of sexual violence; and (2) enhanced access to high quality legal abortion and contraceptive services that respond to gender-specific constraints on rights.

Results achieved as of March 2022 include: (1) prevented 28,874 unsafe abortions and 4,367 unintended pregnancies by providing contraceptives and counselling; (2) provided 58,092 visits for family planning support; (3) reached 16,702 women and girls with information regarding their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); (4) supported 47,632 people with safe, legal abortion or post-abortion care services; (5) supported 131 health facilities and trained 1,392 (695 women and 697 men) healthcare workers on a range of health topics related to abortion and contraceptives; and (6) advocated for policies preventing violence against women and for laws to protect SRHR.