Contextualizing medication abortion in seven African nations: A literature review

摘要

We conducted a comprehensive literature review on abortion in seven African countries to synthesize and analyze the landscape of abortion-related scientific knowledge, with the aim of informing abortion-access related research and programs in the region. We find that that abortion is common, despite legal restrictions, and often occurs outside of the formal health care system. Use of medication abortion was reported to be low, potentially due to legal restrictions and insufficient provider training across the continent. Creative interventions that could improve people's knowledge of and access to safe medication abortion were identified and described.