53,114 abortion cases recorded in government hospitals in 2017

Medical Doctors in Ghana are worried over increasing unsafe abortion cases in the country.

Almost 45 percent of abortions in Ghana remain unsafe amidst high number of abortion cases.

The Ghana Health Service has indicated that a total of 53,114 abortion cases were carried out in 2017 alone in government hospitals across the country. Globally, 25 million unsafe abortion cases occur every year, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The phenomenon is likely to increase in Ghana as cases of teenage pregnancy surges while 35% of Pregnancies among married women are unplanned. According to report 110,000 adolescent girls in 352 basic schools across the country got pregnant in 2016.

Many teenagers resort to unsafe abortion methods due to several factors including stigmatization and ignorance. This has led to needless loss of lives and damage to wombs of many young girls.

It is on the backdrop of this glaring challenge facing the youth that, the Junior Doctors Association (JDA) in collaboration with DKT International as part of activities marking the 60th anniversary of the Ghana Medical Association(GMA) has organized sensitization exercise on safe Abortion and Reproductive health for students of Pentecost Senior High School (PENSEC) in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region.