Unsafe abortion is no longer predominantly a problem among teenage girls, as previously reported.
New health surveillance data indicate that adult women—many married and in their prime reproductive years—now account for a growing share of abortion-related deaths in Uganda.
Dr Aggrey Bameka, associate consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Buwenge General Hospital, said many women seeking abortions today are adults, some accompanied by spouses, and often turn to unlicensed herbalists. “The herbs given frequently have high chemical concentrations with no clear dosage, leading to severe bleeding, infections, and sometimes death if care is delayed,” he said.
Bameka emphasized that women who lose pregnancies due to medical complications also require comprehensive post-abortion care. “For women in middle age who struggle to conceive, losing a pregnancy unintentionally is emotionally devastating. Post-abortion care must include counselling,” he said.
The findings were highlighted during a media café organized by the Health Journalists Network Uganda (HEJNU) in the Eastern Region, on Friday 6th, February, 2026, which brought together health reporters, experts, and community stakeholders to discuss maternal health challenges.
A case in point is a 41-year-old woman who lost a long-awaited pregnancy despite saving over 30 million Shillings for an IVF procedure. “She and her husband had invested in assisted reproductive technology to conceive, and the loss took a heavy emotional toll,” Bameka said.
He added that myths surrounding childbirth, particularly after caesarean sections, contribute to unsafe abortions. “Some women believe a C-section delays future conception. When they become pregnant again shortly after, many opt for unsafe abortions to enforce child spacing,” he explained.
To reduce unsafe abortions, Bameka advised women to adopt family planning immediately after delivery, emphasizing that informed reproductive choices can lower the demand for unsafe procedures.
According to the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) report for the 2024/2025 Financial Year, abortion-related complications account for 4 percent of all maternal deaths, equivalent to 189 deaths per 100,000 live births nationwide.
The situation is particularly severe in the Busoga sub-region, where abortion-related deaths stand at 7 percent, mostly among women aged 25 and above.
Experts caution that these figures may underestimate the problem. Many abortions are performed illegally in unregulated settings, and complications or deaths often go unreported. Early pregnancy losses are also frequently mistaken for delayed or heavy menstrual bleeding, and thus never enter official records.
This trend marks a shift from earlier reports that primarily linked unsafe abortion to school-going teenage girls, many of whom sought abortions due to fear of stigma, school expulsion, or family rejection.
Medically, abortion refers to the termination of a pregnancy before 26 weeks of gestation, before the fetus can survive outside the womb. In Uganda, the law permits abortion only under restrictive conditions, such as when the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life or the fetus is non-viable. Despite these legal limits, unsafe abortions persist, fueled by social pressures, misinformation, and limited access to reproductive health services.
Health advocates argue that addressing unsafe abortion among adult women requires better access to family planning services, accurate information, stronger post-abortion care systems, and open conversations that move beyond outdated assumptions about who is at risk.
