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Safe abortion care at MSF | Collections | MSF Science Portal

Unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal death, and the only one that is completely preventable. Yet over 30 million unsafe abortions occur each year, leading to at least 29,000 deaths and millions of serious complications—nearly all in low- and middle-income countries. MSF teams see these tragic consequences first-hand, treating thousands of patients every year with severe, potentially life-threatening effects from unsafe abortion.


To mark International Safe Abortion Awareness Day (28 September 2024), this Collection presents highlights of MSF’s work on safe abortion care (SAC) as a way to reduce maternal death and injury. By re-assessing and reshaping how our projects deliver SAC in fragile and conflict-affected settings, we have been able to significantly expand services in those contexts and across MSF projects globally. In parallel, we also conducted in-depth studies of abortion complications and their contributing factors in fragile settings, where a dearth of evidence limits understanding of women's needs in accessing comprehensive care. These findings are helping to identify gaps in service delivery and inform operational decision-making.

Collection Content

Journal Article
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Research

Self-managed abortion as a humanitarian revolution: Accounts of a telehealth pilot in the Middle East

Lasserre L, Staderini N, Hasan M, Rossi V
2025-02-11 • Conflict and Health
2025-02-11 • Conflict and Health

BACKGROUND

Access to safe abortion care (SAC) should be improved in fragile and humanitarian settings, and the implementation of interventions in that regard ar...

Journal Article
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Research

Assessing post-abortion care using the WHO quality of care framework for maternal and newborn health: a cross-sectional study in two African hospitals in humanitarian settings

Pasquier E, Owolabi OO, Powell B, Fetters T, Ngbale R,  et al.
2024-08-05 • Reproductive Health
2024-08-05 • Reproductive Health

BACKGROUND

Abortion-related complications remain a main cause of maternal mortality. There is little evidence on the availability and quality of post-abortion c...

Journal Article
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Research

Reasons for delay in reaching healthcare with severe abortion-related morbidities: Qualitative results from women in the fragile context of Jigawa state, Nigeria (AMoCo)

Moore AM, Fetters T, Williams T, Pasquier E, Kantiok J,  et al.
2023-12-01 • SSM - Qualitative Research in Health
2023-12-01 • SSM - Qualitative Research in Health
Maternal near-miss events are a key measure of maternal health; abortion-related complications are one source of near-miss events. To understand the pathway to care of women with severe ...
Technical Report
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Evidence Brief

The magnitude and severity of abortion-related complications: Referral Hospital in Jigawa State, a fragile setting - Results of the AMoCo study

Fotheringham C, Moore AM, Owolabi OO, Fetters T, Chen H,  et al.
2023-08-01
2023-08-01

A dearth of evidence on abortion complications in fragile settings limits the understanding of women’s needs in access to comprehensive abortion care in contexts like Jigawa state. Th...

Journal Article
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Pre-Print

Lessons learned conducting abortion research in fragile contexts: Reflections from a mixed methods study in Africa (the AMoCo study)

Moore AM, Pasquier E, Williams TN, Fetters T, Powell B,  et al.
2023-03-20 • Research Square
2023-03-20 • Research Square
BACKGROUND
Conducting abortion research in fragile settings presents challenges, many of which are present in other low-resourced settings to various degrees but when appearing all t...
Journal Article
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Research

High severity of abortion complications in fragile and conflict-affected settings: a cross-sectional study in two referral hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa (AMoCo study)

Pasquier E, Owolabi OO, Fetters T, Ngbale RN, Adame Gbanzi MC,  et al.
2023-03-04 • BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
2023-03-04 • BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
BACKGROUND
Abortion-related complications are one of the five main causes of maternal mortality. However, research about abortion is very limited in fragile and conflict-affected set...
Journal Article
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Research

Catalyst for change: Lessons learned from overcoming barriers to providing safe abortion care in Médecins Sans Frontières projects

Kumar M, Schulte-Hillen C, De Plecker E, Van Haver A, Marques SG,  et al.
2022-10-23 • Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
2022-10-23 • Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
CONTEXT
Despite instituting a policy in 2004, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continuously struggled to routinely provide safe abortion care (SAC). In 2016, the organization launched ...
Conference Material
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Poster

Provision of safe abortion care: a multicentre descriptive mixed-methods analysis, MSF OCB 2018-2020

Van Haver A, Lagrou D, Van der Bergh R, Lynen M, Vaquero M,  et al.
2021-05-18 • MSF Scientific Days International 2021: Research
2021-05-18 • MSF Scientific Days International 2021: Research
Journal Article
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Commentary

Now is the time: a call for increased access to contraception and safe abortion care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Kumar M, Daly M, de Plecker E, Jamet C, McRae M,  et al.
2020-07-20 • BMJ Global Health
2020-07-20 • BMJ Global Health
SUMMARY BOX

• The COVID-19 pandemic has begun to severely limit access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, including contraception and safe abortion care (SAC), which have h...
Conference Material
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Video

Overcoming barriers to provision of safe abortion care in MSF projects: Task Force approach

Kumar M
2019-05-10 • MSF Scientific Days International 2019
2019-05-10 • MSF Scientific Days International 2019
Journal Article
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Letter

Why Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides safe abortion care and what that involves

Schulte-Hillen C, Staderini N, Saint-Sauveur JF
2016-09-21 • Conflict and Health
2016-09-21 • Conflict and Health
MSF responds to needs for the termination of pregnancy, including on request (TPR); it is part of the organization's work aimed at reducing maternal mortality and suffering; and preventi...

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MSF Scientific Days International 2024
MSF Scientific Days International 2024
On 16 May people from within and outside MSF will gather in London, joined by online participants from over 100 countries, for this annual ‘conference without borders’ showcasing medical research from fragile and conflict affected settings. All too often the populations MSF and others work with are excluded from the benefits of research. Yet they are the ones that often need these benefits most. So speakers will consider how MSF’s research has impacted the way our projects deliver care, how knowledge gaps can be pivotal to political gatekeeping and to triggering appropriate humanitarian responses, and how identifying best practices and funding innovation are key to improving our capacity to act. Here you can view abstracts for all scientific presentations, which focus on infectious diseases, outbreaks, vaccination, and mortality.
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Safe abortion care at MSF

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