Postabortion Care
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Visit the USAID-funded INFO Project Web site for the PAC Global Resources Guide (watch video from the Guide launch on June 26, 2007), which includes the latest recommended postabortion care (PAC) resources. The site serves as a repository of evidence-based basic instruments intended for policymakers and program planners who are designing or revising their current PAC program.
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Each year in the developing world, an estimated 210 million women become pregnant. Approximately 15 to 20 percent of these pregnancies will end in miscarriage and 67,000 women will die from complications related to unsafe abortion. This represents13 percent of all pregnancy related deaths. Millions more women suffer serious illness and infertility. To address these severe health problems and to reduce maternal death, USAID funds postabortion care (PAC) programs that comprehensively address women's needs through three core components:
- Emergency treatment for complications of spontaneous or induced abortion
- Family planning counseling and services, and depending on disease prevalence and available resources, STI evaluation and treatment, and HIV counseling and or referral for testing
- Community empowerment through community awareness and mobilization
Postabortion care is a programmatic priority for USAID's Bureau for Global Health and is a key intervention in the pathway to maternal survival and the reduction of unplanned pregnancies that may result in repeat abortion. Postabortion care programs have received support from the Bush Administration which is noted in a statement made by the White House Press Secretary on the restoration of the Mexico City Policy in 2001. While USAID supports treatment for abortion-related complications, USAID does not support abortion as a means of family planning nor does USAID provide abortions in any circumstances. USAID does not finance the purchase or distribution of manual vacuum aspiration equipment for any purpose.
USAID Postabortion Care Resources
- Meeting Health Care Needs of Women Experiencing Complications of Miscarriage and Unsafe Abortion: USAID's Postabortion Care Program - July/August 2007 [PDF, 119KB]
This article provides information on the history of USAID’s postabortion care program, the current PAC strategy, the Global PAC Resource package, and results from focus countries involved in the current PAC strategy.
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| Download the April 2007 Report of the Postabortion Care Technical Advisory Panel [PDF, 333KB] |
Report of the Postabortion Care Technical Advisory Panel - April 2007 [PDF, 333KB]
This report's purpose is to assist USAID in the ongoing and future scale-up of safe and effective PAC programs worldwide for women experiencing complications related to miscarriage and incomplete abortion.
- USAID Postabortion Care Strategy Paper - October 2004 [PDF, 762KB]
The overall goal of USAID's PAC strategy is to reduce maternal mortality, morbidity, and repeat abortions.
- USAID's Postabortion Care Model [PDF, 762KB]
- Global Evaluation of USAID's Postabortion Care Programs
This report is the result of a global evaluation of postabortion care conducted by USAID in 2001 and includes case studies of Bolivia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal.
Technical Meetings
Postabortion Care Community Mobilization
- SWAK News [PDF, 2.2MB]
In Kenya, through the ACQUIRE project, the Society for Women Against AIDS in Africa has implemented an effective community activity known as Community Mobilization for Postabortion Care (COMMPAC). The model was adapted from a model used in Bolivia and implemented in the Nakuru District. This newsletter provides information on the results of the activity and the community champions that have been developed through the program.
- Mobilizing Communities for PAC Services [PDF, 2MB]
This article from The Michigan Fellows Newsletter, published by the USAID-funded Populations Fellows Programs, describes the implementation of Bolivia's first PAC community mobilization model.
Technical Briefs
- Decentralization of Postabortion Care in Senegal and Tanzania [PDF, 144KB]
In developing countries, PAC programs are frequently available only in urban or regional health facilities, placing rural women at greater risk for mortality and morbidity from complications because they lack access to services. To improve access, USAID has worked with two focus countries, Senegal and Tanzania, to decentralize PAC activities.
- Family Planning Prevents Abortion [PDF, 149KB]
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), complications of unsafe abortion are responsible for 13 percent of all maternal deaths
- Postabortion Family Planning Benefits Clients and Providers [PDF, 559KB]
Provision of family planning methods is a central feature of postabortion care. Ensuring reliable onsite availability of family planning methods for all clients following abortion or miscarriage can result in benefits for clients, providers, and programs.
- Population Reports - Care for Postabortion Complications: Saving Women's Lives [PDF, 3MB]
In developing countries each year, more than half a million women die from maternal causes, nearly all of these deaths could be prevented. Efforts to prevent maternal deaths from complications of unsafe abortion are crucial but inadequate in most of the world. Providing appropriate medical care immediately could save many thousands of women's lives. Offering family planning could prevent many future unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
Research, Assessments, and Modeling Papers on Postabortion Care
General Research
- Assessment of the Progress of the PAC Initiative in Francophone Africa [PDF, 709KB]
This multicentric study documents the progress of introducing and implementing PAC in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. The objectives of this study included assessing the situation; describing the process of the introduction, integration, and decentralization of PAC; and analyzing the successes and obstacles involved in the process of integration and institutionalizing PAC. The summary of this report is in English, the body is in French.
- Who Receives PAC Services? - Evidence from 14 Countries
This paper analyzes socio-demographic and reproductive health characteristic data of women receiving PAC services from 24 studies in 14 countries and paints a varied picture of women presenting for PAC services. This paper was prepared by the Futures Group’s Policy Project after an extensive research and literature review was conducted for the publication of the research compendium of the Global PAC Resource Package entitled “What Works: A Policy and Program Guide to the Evidence on Postabortion Care."
Decentralization of PAC Services to Health Center and Health Post Levels
Postabortion Family Planning
- Postabortion Family Planning Operations Research Study in Perm, Russia [PDF, 2.8MB]
This paper reports the findings of USAID-funded research in Perm, Russia, that studied the effectiveness of two different models of postabortion family planning. The study showed an increase in client and provider knowledge of postabortion family planning after the intervention, a 20 percent increase in the use of modern contraceptive methods at 12 months postabortion, and a dramatic decline in the repeat abortion rate at one year after the intervention.
- Is There Value in Adding a Follow-Up Visit to Postabortion Care? [PDF, 203KB]
This modeling paper reports the findings of a USAID-funded review that responds to the question of whether there is benefit in adding a follow-up visit to the current one visit model for PAC services. The paper offers evidence of the benefits to women receiving services, progress toward development goals, and potential cost savings.
Cost Projection Models
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