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By Amos Tayebwa
A silent but deadly crisis is unfolding in Mbarara, where medical experts are raising the alarm over a surge in maternal deaths linked to unsafe abortions—warning that the lives of young women are increasingly hanging in the balance.
Doctors and health workers from Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital say the situation is spiraling, with desperate girls and women turning to dangerous backstreet procedures that often end in tragedy.
Speaking during a media café organized by the Health Journalists Network in Uganda at Adit Mall, leading obstetrician Prof. Rogers Kajabawangu did not mince words as he exposed the scale of the crisis.
The senior medic revealed that the hospital is now overwhelmed with post-abortion complications—most of them from procedures carried out in unsafe, unregulated environments.
“The facility has registered the highest number of cases related to abortion which are normally practiced outside the hospital,” he said, warning that many of these cases arrive too late, when complications have already turned fatal.
In a chilling revelation, Kajabawangu noted that complications from unsafe abortions have now climbed the deadly ranks to become one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in Uganda.
“Complication of abortion is one of the biggest causes of maternal death… it is number five now in the country,” he said.
Behind the statistics lies a painful reality—young girls, students, and vulnerable women facing unwanted pregnancies with limited options, stigma, and fear pushing them into the shadows.
But instead of pushing for stricter crackdowns, experts are now shifting the conversation to prevention.
“Our advocacy is not so much to make abortion illegal,” Kajabawangu explained. “Our advocacy is in reducing unwanted pregnancies so that we have fewer and fewer women who end up thinking about aborting—and therefore ending up with unsafe abortions.”
He emphasized that expanding access to family planning is the most effective weapon in this fight, arguing that if every woman who does not want to get pregnant is supported with contraception, the demand for risky abortions would significantly drop.
“If we continue and find that every woman who doesn’t want to get pregnant is on a family planning method, then we will get fewer and fewer women getting unwanted pregnancies,” he said.
But even as prevention takes centre stage, frontline health workers are dealing with the brutal aftermath.
Midwife and maternal health advocate Pleasure Nuwenshaba painted a grim picture of what happens when things go wrong.
“Look for people who are skilled… think about the safe environment where you are going to have abortion,” she urged, stressing that many victims end up in critical condition because they rely on unqualified providers.
She underscored the life-saving importance of post-abortion care—services that remain a controversial yet essential part of Uganda’s healthcare system.
“Post-abortion care is much more important,” she said. “If there is no offer for post-abortion care, very many women would be dead.”
Nuwenshaba also highlighted the need for compassion in handling victims, many of whom are young girls battling fear, stigma, and trauma.
“Counselling has to be non-judgemental… you have to be kind and talk to them politely without judging or discriminating,” she added.
The crisis has also exposed a dangerous contradiction—while abortion remains highly restricted in Uganda, the consequences of unsafe procedures are filling hospital wards.
Health experts warn that without urgent intervention, the death toll could continue rising quietly, claiming lives that could have been saved through education, access to contraception, and timely medical care.
