Challenge

Although abortion is legal in Nepal, unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal death. Many Nepali women continue to face barriers to obtaining safe and legal procedures, such as lack of services and trained providers, and gender norms that hinder women’s decision-making autonomy.

Solution

Expanding access to safe and legal abortion, especially in remote areas, through establishing safe abortion sites, and equipping them with a provider trained in medical abortion is key to preventing maternal deaths from unsafe abortions.   

Current Campaigns

While abortion has been legal in Nepal for nearly 20 years, women still face challenges accessing abortion care, leading to preventable deaths. WRA Nepal, in partnership with Ipas Nepal, has established 15 safe abortion sites and conducted a 5-day medical abortion training for providers. WRA Nepal has trained more than 20 providers, expanding services to sites that were previously inoperative due to a lack of trained service providers. The Safe Abortion program currently has sites in Shankhuwasabha, Dadeldhura, Myagdi, Sunsari, Makwanpur, Mugu, Arghakanchi, Doti, Syangia, Rolpa, Terathum, Parbat, Ilam, Palpa, and Bjura.

Our Impact

In 2018, after more than a decade of dedicated advocacy from SMNF/WRA Nepal and multiple changes in governments – and just two years after the “Kathmandu Declaration” – Nepal’s House of Representatives unanimously passed the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Act, 2018, explicitly protecting the health and rights of women, girls, adolescents and newborns. The legislation declared that all people have the right to access sexual, reproductive, and maternal health related information, counseling, and services. It represents the first time to WRA’s knowledge that respectful maternity care has been enshrined in national law anywhere in the world.

The April 25, 2015 Gorkha earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people and injured nearly 22,000 in Nepal. SMNF/WRA Nepal activated its vast network of affiliate organizations to aid in recovery efforts and, for the next six months, ensured mothers and newborns received the care they needed while advocating for the lasting improvements needed to guarantee safe motherhood during future natural disasters.