Health care policy

Making Abortion Safer in Rwanda: Operationalization of the Penal Code of 2012 to Expand Legal Exemptions and Challenges

Nuriye Nalan Sahin Hodoglugil
Fidele Ngabo
Joanna Ortega
Laetitia Nyirazinyoye
Eugene Ngoga
Evangeline Dushimeyezu
Eugene Kanyamanza
Ndola Prata
2017
Abstract

Penal code was revised in Rwanda in 2012 allowing legal termination of pregnancy resulting from rape, incest, forced marriage, or on medical grounds. An evaluation was conducted to assess women's access to abortion services as part of an ongoing program to operationalize the new exemptions for legal abortion. Data was collected from eight district hospitals; seven gender-based violence (GBV) centers and six intermediate courts. Three focus group discussions and 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants. At hospitals, of the 2,644 uterine evacuation records (July...

The rheumatic heart disease healthcare paradox: disease persistence in slums despite universal healthcare coverage—a provider perspective qualitative study

D P Morberg 1, Y A Alzate López 2, S Moreira 2, N Prata 3, L W Riley 3, M S Burroughs Peña 4
D P Morberg
Y A Alzate López
S Moreira
N Prata
L W Riley
M S Burroughs Peña
2019

Objectives: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a preventable disease frequently recognized in urban slums. Disease rates in Brazilian slums are incommensurate with the country's economic status and the existence of its universal healthcare system. Our study aimed to investigate what system issues may allow for disease persistence, focusing on issues surrounding access and utilization of primary and specialized healthcare services.

Study design: This was a two-part (formative phase followed by implementation phase) qualitative study based on interviews...

Availability of medical abortion medicines in eight countries: a descriptive analysis of key findings and opportunities.

Amy Grossman
Ndola Prata
Natalie Williams
Bela Ganatra
Antonella Lavelane
Laurence Läse
Chilanga Asmani
Hayfa Elamin
Leopold Ouedraogo
Mahmudur Rahman
Musu Julie Conneh‑Duworko
Bentoe Zoogley Tehoungue
Harriet Chanza
Henry Phiri9, Bharat Bhattara
Narayan Prasad Dhakal
Olumuyiwa Adesanya Ojo
Kayode Afolabi
Theopista John Kabuten
Binyam Getachew Hailu
Francis Moses
Sithembile Dlamini‑Nqeketo
Thembi Zulu
Ulrika Rehnström Loi
2023
Background

In recent years a growing number of manufacturers and medical abortion products have entered country markets and health systems, with varying degrees of quality and accessibility. An interplay of factors including pharmaceutical regulations, abortion laws, government policies and service delivery guidelines and provider’s knowledge and practices influence the availability of medical abortion medicines. We assessed the availability of medical abortion in eight countries to increase understanding among policymakers of the need to improve availability and affordability of quality-...

“Africans, we know how to adapt indeed”: Adaptations to family planning and reproductive health services in humanitarian settings in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic

Evens E
Ambrose A
Bello B
Murray K
Tefouet N
Fatusi A
Nwagbara B
Riungu M
Maji T
Khamofu H
Fotso JC
Prata N
2024

On March 30, 2020, the Government of Nigeria implemented its first COVID-19 related lockdown. We worked with two humanitarian projects in Nigeria, the Integrated Humanitarian Assistance to Northeast Nigeria (IHANN II) in Borno State and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees South-South Health and Nutrition Intervention (UNHCR-SS-HNIR) for Cameroon Refugees and vulnerable populations in Cross River State, to document the programmatic adaptations to Family Planning/Reproductive Health (FP/RH) services in response to COVID-19 and identify successes and challenges of those...