How Canada is Failing Africa's Mothers

In not supporting access to safe abortions in countries where the procedure is legal, Canada is squandering an opportunity to improve maternal health in Africa.

Last week in Mali, Bev Oda, Canada’s Minister of International Cooperation, announced the implementation of the Harper government’s Muskoka G8 plan to improve maternal and child health in Africa. Ms. Oda’s official press release emphasizes the need for improved access to health care; more trained health workers; and focused interventions that address malaria and malnutrition. Indeed, these are critical interventions for strengthening health systems in developing countries, and Canada could be a key player in working with African nations to improve the health of their mothers and young children. However, beyond mentioning malaria, nutrition, and common illnesses, Bev Oda and the Harper government have remained vague on how, or if, their maternal and child health plan will provide family planning services. Specifically, there are no details to indicate if this plan will support access to safe abortions in countries where abortions are legal.

Consider a young woman I met while in Tanzania. At 19 years old, she was on her fifth pregnancy. Of this young woman’s four previous pregnancies, only two of her children survived. She was HIV positive with only a few more years to live. It is hard not to wonder what is really best for the health of this young mother and her children. Without information or access to a safe abortion, she will deliver her next child; however, because of HIV and severe malnourishment, she will be less able to keep herself strong and healthy. Moreover, the additional newborn in the family will take away from the care and limited resources of the older children.

This young Tanzanian woman is not unique – there are millions of women like her in Africa. According to the WHO, 5.5 million African women have unsafe abortions every year. Of the 500,000 women who lose their lives to pregnancy-related complications annually, 13 per cent of them die because of unsafe abortions. This means that each year, unsafe abortions leave over 200,000 children motherless.

The Muskoka G-8 maternal and child health initiative has received much attention, and much criticism for its ambiguous stance on family planning services. Some critics argue that the Harper government is putting ideology before policy, that is, aiming to win political support from those ideologically opposed to abortion by deliberately omitting access to safe abortion in the initiative. Others suggest that family planning was left off the agenda by pure oversight; that in developing a plan to improve the health of mothers and children, the question of when women should choose to have children, or more children, was simply not considered as part of the equation.

Regardless of the reason that the initiative has neglected family planning, it is essential that this omission be corrected. An effective, humane, and fair maternal and child health plan must include information, training, and access to resources allowing women to decide when they will have children.

These are facts that must be acknowledged and addressed in the Muskoka G-8 maternal and child health initiative. For Canada to be a leader in the global health arena, its programs and policies must be informed by evidence and data. Without a clear discussion about the role of family planning, Canada’s maternal and child health initiative is short-sighted, untenable, unhelpful, and misses a timely opportunity to address one of the fundamental health issues in Africa.