Traditional Medicine For Abortion In Zambia

March 05, 2021

This study describes the process and results of galvanizing access to medical abortion where abortion has been legal for. The World Health Organization has recognized traditional medicine as a de facto and economical substitute for biomedicine in the developing world.

Introduction Of Medical Abortion Methods In Zambia International Campaign For Women S Right To Safe Abortion Sawr

Although induced abortion has been legal in Zambia since 1972 many women still face logistical financial social and legal obstacles to access safe abortion services and undergo unsafe abortion instead.

Traditional medicine for abortion in zambia. Reproductive Health 16 February 2017 DOI. The code further prohibits any other person from assisting in performing an abortion outside the law. Tamara Fetters Ghazaleh Samandari Patrick Djemo Bellington Vwallika Stephen Mupeta.

In Zambia there has been a protracted process to conduct and conclude research on the popular Sondashi SF 2000 formula which the owner claims to cure HIVAIDS and backs his claims with testimonies of people who claim were once infected by the virus9 Despite available data as to how many people still opt to visit traditional healers and compounded by the easy access to and proximity of a traditional. Some of these healers actually suggest dangerous life-threatening procedures for women who are desperate to rid themselves of the looming life struggles involved with their pregnancy. Other women attempt to induce abortion themselves by inserting plants or twigs into the cervix.

Many abortions are still happening in Zambia with the help of local traditional healers who know next to nothing about safety and sanitary procedures. Traditional Chinese medicine TCM is a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2000 years including various forms of herbal medicine acupuncture massage 推拿 exercise 气功 and dietary therapy. According to the World Health Organization an unsafe abortion is a procedure for terminating an unwanted pregnancy either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment lacking the minimal medical standards or both25 Unsafe and poorly performed abortions are a major cause of maternal mortality in Zambia26.

Medical Abortion MA- Abortion pill Misoprostol Mifepristone Medabon Manual Vacuum Aspiration MVA-. UNICEF contracted AIR and researchers from the University of Zambia to gather data on traditional parenting and child care practices across diverse cultures in Zambia and assess these data against current scientific evidence of ECD to determine which traditional parenting practices may contribute or be detrimental to childrens development. Studies of abortion in Zambia provide contextual information on the characteristics of.

Abortion Regulation in Zambia Abortion is regulated by the termination of pregnancy Act of Chapter 26 of 1972 and chapter 13 of 1994 of the revised Act in Zambia 11. Some of the findings from the study are in this publication. Background Although abortion is technically legal in Zambia the reality is far more complicated.

These women and girls normally use high doses of medications to abort baby others use sticks herbal insertion into womb traditional concoctions for drinking and also washing detergents battery acids and even Coca cola says Monde Wamunyima a medical Consultant at. Ders traditional healers unregistered medical practitioners and pharmacists is unknown. Accordingly the Zambian government aims to integrate traditional healers locally known as nganga with their biomedical counterparts in a national health care system.

Unsafe abortion is a significant but preventable cause of maternal mortality. Desperate and often the youngest women drink gasoline or detergents or take large overdoses of chloroquine aspirin or other toxic substances. Traditional healers also provide herbs claimed to be abortifacients which are taken in tea or eaten.

In 2012 the medical abortion combination pack Medabon V R mifepristone and misoprostol was approved for use in Zambia by the Ministry of Health. At least 114 of the women at UTH induce abortion themselves by inserting plants or twigs into the cervix. Traditional complementary and alternative medicine TCAM refers to a set of healthcare practices indigenous or imported that are delivered outside of the mainstream healthcare system1 In the African setting it may encompass local herbal medicines or products indigenous healthcare practices traditional bone setting as well as imported complementary and alternative medicine.

The first is the Penal Code chapter 87 sections 151 and 152 which prohibits a woman from undergoing an abortion without the authority of the law. My interest in the changing nature of Zambian or African traditional medicine inspired me so much that I actually conducted formal research into the topic in 2002. The research was among the Tumbuka people of Lundazi District in the Eastern Province of Zambia.

Most women go to traditional healers or midwives who insert roots soaked in water into the cervix which act as an irritantdilator. 1 Subject to the provisions of this section a person shall not be guilty of an offence under the law relating to abortion when a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner if he and two other registered medical practitioners one of whom has specialised in the branch of medicine in which the patient is specifically required to be examined before a conclusion could be reached that the abortion. Traditional healers also provide herbs claimed to be abortifacients which are taken in tea or eaten.

What are the different abortion services available in Zambia. The termination of pregnancy Act states that a person shall not be guilty of an offence under the law relating to abortion when a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical. Legal abortion in Zambia is supported by two principal laws.

Abortion Rights In Zambia Increasingly Under Attack Newafricadaily