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...
We provide an overview of diverse forms of youth participation, with a focus on youth participatory action research (YPAR) and its synergies with life course intervention research to promote healthier development for young people and across the life span. We analyze why YPAR matters for research, practice, and policies related to the systems and settings in which young people develop. We also illustrate how young people perform YPAR work to improve the developmental responsiveness and equity of school and health systems, including descriptions of an innovative youth-led health center...
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-...
In 2012 Rwanda expanded legal grounds for abortion to include cases of rape, incest, forced marriage, the health of a pregnant person or fetus at risk, and for minors on request in 2018. The penal code limits abortion care to doctors in hospitals, impeding access for many women. We tested an intervention that provides first-trimester medication abortion at primary health centers, using telemedicine to connect nurses/midwives to doctors in district hospitals for authorization of services. We implemented a 15-month prospective study to assess the feasibility, effectiveness, safety, and...
Our long-time partner, Evangeline Dushimeyesu from the Rwanda Health Initiative for Youth and Women, highlighted our joint innovation—a telemedicine model for medication abortion—at the 2025 Transform Africa Summit this week. The work was featured prominently in a plenary session aligned with the conference theme, "AI for Africa: Innovate Locally, Impact...
UC Berkeley Bixby Center; RHIYW; Rwanda Biomedical Centre; Rwanda Society of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (RSOG)
Telemedicine provides a unique opportunity to improve abortion care in Rwanda by allowing for service provision at primary care level. Efficacy of medication abortion is well established in healthcare,yet research in Rwanda is still needed to determine the effectiveness and safety of management of first trimester medication abortion cases at health centers. While current services are only available in district hospitals, services at health centers would decrease referrals for first trimester medication abortion. This strategy will also reduce costs of service provision and address...
Telemedicine provides a unique opportunity to improve abortion care in Rwanda by allowing for service provision at primary care level. Efficacy of medication abortion is well established in healthcare,yet research in Rwanda is still needed to determine the effectiveness and safety of management of first trimester medication abortion cases at health centers. While current services are only available in district hospitals, services at health centers would decrease referrals for first trimester medication abortion. This strategy will also reduce costs of service...
Telemedicine provides a unique opportunity to increase access to abortion care in Rwanda by task-shifting the provision of medication abortion while still complying with law that states only medical doctors can authorize abortion services. In this project, nurses/midwives in public health centers in Musanze District are providing first trimester medication abortion services by using telemedicine to connect with district hospital doctors for authorization. This presentation will discuss how we are implementing a high tech project design in a low technology setting; providing critical...
Information, education and communication (IEC) campaign sample from a postabortion care (PAC) operations research project in Rwanda using the local Kinyarwanda language.
Our long-time partner, Evangeline Dushimeyesu from the Rwanda Health Initiative for Youth and Women, highlighted our joint innovation—a telemedicine model for medication abortion—at the 2025 Transform Africa Summit this week. The work was featured prominently in a plenary session aligned with the conference theme, "AI for Africa: Innovate Locally, Impact...