Legal Defense For Suppliers And Dispensers Of Essential Medicines For Sexual Reproductive Health Services

Uganda is burdened with a high maternal mortality rate that currently stands at 336 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births4 and 26 percent of those maternal deaths are due to unsafe abortions. These unsafe abortions are largely due to inadequate access to contraceptives, teenage pregnancies and the restrictive legal and policy environment that criminalizes termination of pregnancy and this has a negative effect on the lives of several adolescent girls and young women as documented by the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development in its publication titled “Facing Uganda’s Law on Abortion: Experiences of women and service providers”.