Catalysing change for reproductive health in Chad through a multi-stakeholder coalition

摘要

In 2002, the Government of Chad passed a reproductive health (RH) law1 which upholds the right to RH services, including Article 14, which defines access to therapeutic interruption of pregnancy (therapeutic abortion).2 It was noted that implementation of the article would be activated through a decree of application outlining the processes, guidelines and technical specifications for provision of RH services, adopted by the Council of Ministers, and signed by the President of Chad. Chad has also signed the Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, which affirms commitment to ensure full access to RH services. The government has yet to ratify the Protocol, which would require entering into legally binding commitments to the provisions within the Charter. Discussion of the decree of application has been set back by continual staff turnover within the government, specifically, the Ministry of Health, and by other priorities, such as internally displaced and refugee populations in the south of the country.