Meri Khachikyan
Speeches:
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NGO providing support to improve the quality of abortion services
in a government clinic: case study from Armenia
Meri Khachikyan, “For Family and Health” Pan-Armenian Association, Yerevan, Armenia
Co-author: Ruzanna Abrahamyan
In Armenia, as in all former Soviet countries, induced abortion was the primary means of fertility control
for many years. The most frequently used methods for pregnancy termination are Dilatation and Curettage (D&C) and Electrical Vacuum Aspiration (EVA). More modern methods like medical abortion and Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) are not commonly used. In 2002 the Parliament of Armenia adopted a new law on “Human Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health” that legalizes induced abortion on request up to 12 weeks of gestation and legalizes induced abortion up to 22 weeks for medical or social reasons. According to official data from the Ministry of Health of Armenia, induced abortions before 22 weeks of gestation constituted 33 percent of all maternal deaths in 2002. In 2005 this had been reduced to 7% of all maternal deaths. Among women that have an abortion, the average number of abortions per lifetime is 2.6 (the survey reached 14-24 year old male and female respondents). Repeat abortions are common due to the lack of post-abortion contraception.
In the National Survey and Case Studies on Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour and Experiences conducted among young people 16% of sexually active young women reported having had an unintended pregnancy in comparison with 19% of young men. The attempt to self-induce abortion is common. The rates of miscarriages and abortion-related complications are quite high. Most of young women were not happy with the quality of abortion care when having had a hospital-based abortion.
“For Family and Health” Pan-Armenian Association NGO (PAFHA), with support of the IPPF/IF and other donors has established its own clinic in Yerevan to provide sexual and reproductive health services, including comprehensive abortion care in response to the needs of young and poor women who cannot access high-quality care due to financial or social barriers. Since January 2009, the PAFHA has been involved in implementation of the IPPF Global Comprehensive Abortion Care Initiative in partnership with tertiary referral level health facility - Institute of Perinatology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a regional clinic that provides services for the town of Vayk and five neighbouring villages in Vayots Dzor region of Armenia. The purpose of the project is to reduce the incidence of abortion complications, and enable poor and young women in Armenia to access high-quality abortion services.
The project used different strategies like capacity building, community participation, and advocacy to improve abortion care and access to high quality abortion services. Within the framework of the project the PAFHA established an effective model of public-private partnership that involves introduction of the quality of care approach, improvement of the systems of clinical information management, improving the referral and follow-up systems. Support from decision makers, health professionals, journalists, community leaders, parents and peer-educators were essential in increasing access to comprehensive safe abortion care.
As an outcome of the initiative significant progress was revealed in the improvement of the quality of abortion care at the PAFHA clinic and its two partner clinics. Furthermore, the IPPF GCAC initiative gave a unique opportunity to PAFHA to introduce international approaches towards quality of abortion care nationally. In June 2010, the National guidelines and standards for providing safe abortion services in line with international recommendations were endorsed by the Ministry of Health. The implementation of a national program on monitoring and evaluating the quality of SRH services, including maternal and abortion care has been initiated.