Unsafe abortions continue to quietly claim the lives of women in Busoga Sub-region, with medical experts warning that the scale of the crisis is far bigger than official figures suggest.
According to the 2024/2025 Annual Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) and Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) report, Uganda’s maternal mortality ratio stands at 189 deaths per 100,000 live births. About four percent of these deaths are attributed to complications arising from unsafe abortions.
However, health experts say the situation in Busoga is more severe. Speaking during a media engagement organised by the Health Journalists Network in Uganda (HEJNU) in Jinja, Dr Aggrey Bameka, a member of the Association of Ob-Gyns of Uganda, said unsafe abortions account for about seven percent of pregnancy-related deaths in the sub-region. He said unintended pregnancies remain the main driver of unsafe abortions. Other contributing factors include domestic violence, financial instability, unstable relationships, and low use of modern contraceptives. ”Many women do not embrace long-term family planning methods that can last between three and ten years, yet these are more effective in preventing unplanned pregnancies,” he said. The prevalence rate of modern contraceptive use in Uganda remains low, at about 38 per cent, said ob-gyn Dr Simon Peter Kayondo. He also said fear of being judged or arrested stop women with complications coming to a hospital , yet post-abortion care is available to every woman regardless of how the abortion started, and it is free of charge in government hospitals.
A new report on abortion in Uganda shows that misconception and unclear laws are forcing women to procure unsafe abortions even in cases where they could legally obtain a safe abortion. The latest estimates from the Ministry of Health indicate that a total of 292,000 abortions are carried out annually in Uganda, or 800 per day, more than half of which involve crude methods. The report “A Technical Guide to Understanding the Legal and Policy Framework on Termination of Pregnancy in Uganda” by the Centre for Reproductive Health Uganda, indicates that the majority of women go for unsafe abortion because they have been made to believe that terminating pregnancy is illegal.
Speaking at the release of the report in Kampala, the regional director for Africa at the Centre for Reproductive Rights, Ms Evelyne Opondo, said the perceived illegality of abortion services in Uganda has led to stigma, fear and secrecy driving many women to desperate measures to end pregnancies. She called on leaders to clarify the abortion laws and broaden access to information about reproductive health care, including access to family planning and safe abortion services.
The report says the laws and policies governing termination of pregnancy in Uganda are inconsistent, unclear and often contradictory. The State Minister for Primary Health Care Sarah Opendi said unsafe abortion contributes about 25 per cent of maternal deaths in Uganda, and that the Ministry would take the lead in disseminating information on the legal and policy framework on preventing maternal mortality from unsafe abortion.
SOURCES: How abortion is eating away Busoga’s future | Monitor, by Tausi Nakato, 11 February 2026, and 800 abortions procured daily in Uganda, new report shows | Monitor, 1558902, January 2021. Visual: LIST: Women of power, influence running Museveni’s govt | Monitor, 10 March 2026.