Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa
In Tanzania and other parts of eastern Africa, there were an
estimated 2.4 million unsafe abortions in 2008, 36 unsafe abortions per
1,000 women of reproductive age, the highest rate of any region in
Africa, according to the Guttmacher Institute which conducts research on
sexual and reproductive health in Tanzania.
"The government must take real action against these abortionists,
not just warnings. How many lives must be lost before these quacks are
actually taken to task?" Gema Akilimali, a women's rights activist with
the Tanzania Gender Network Programme said recently.
During recent tour in Ruvuma Region the newly appointed Prime
Minister, Kassim Majaliwa has warned doctors who perform illegal
abortions that they will face the sack and possible imprisonment in a
crackdown on such operations which are believed to be happening widely
across the country.
The government warning follows reports that doctors in public and
private hospitals in the east African nation are routinely accepting
payments to perform abortions, and studies that show high rates of
complications from illegal abortions.
Abortion is illegal in Tanzania except when performed to save a woman's life and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
Tanzania has one of the world's highest maternal mortality rates,
at 454 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) figures.
Government officials say most of these deaths are due to
abortion-related complications. Women unable to access safe abortion
services may try to terminate a pregnancy themselves or turn to illegal
clinics which can endanger their lives.
Majaliwa told doctors at Ruvuma Regional Hospital in the southern
highlands to stop performing abortions on girls and women or they will
be sacked and charged according to the law.
"These unlawful acts are totally unacceptable, doctors who
entertain this behaviour will not be spared," he told doctors and
medical workers during a surprise visit to the hospital this week. "I
don't want to hear labour rooms are being used for terminating
pregnancies."
Majaliwa, who took office in November, told local health
authorities to investigate and identify any doctors disobeying this
order and take disciplinary action against them.
Hospital-based data suggests that hundreds of abortions are
performed in secret in public and private hospitals in Tanzania with
medical workers often playing a role in organising them.
Although the government has taken various steps to crack down on
those who perform illegal abortions, critics say the authorities do not
have the capacity to probe, control and prosecute those accused of the
offence.
Studies have indicated that up to 60 per cent of women admitted to
public hospitals with suspected miscarriages have in fact undergone an
abortion.
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