The amended ministerial order determining conditions to be met for a medical doctor to perform an abortion has finally allowed health centres and private clinics to perform abortions as long as they are authorised by the Ministry in charge. If a clinic fulfills requirements for the medical procedure, then it can also be allowed after assessment.

Previously, nurses and midwives were barred from performing abortions. Only doctors who obtained at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine, registered and licensed by a health profession regulatory body in Rwanda and working in public or private health facilities, were allowed to perform the procedure.

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For context, a 2019 Ministry of Health report indicated that the total number of registered medical doctors in Rwanda was 1,648, with 452 of them practicing in the public sector. Furthermore, 15,050 nurses and midwives were registered, with 7,593 employed in public health facilities.

In a collaborative study by the World Health Organisation and US-based Guttmacher Institute, reported in 2022 that nevertheless, half of all abortions in Rwanda were performed by nurses and untrained individuals, and were considered to be of very high risk. An estimated 34 percent of abortions were conducted by traditional healers while 17 per cent were induced by the women themselves.

They also reported that the Rwandan government was spending $1.7 million annually on treatment for complications resulting from unsafe abortion.

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Like different rights activists had appealed to the government, limited access to abortion services doesn’t stop abortion from happening, but instead, unsafe abortions rise.

While legalizing abortion is a milestone for reproductive health rights, it remains available for a few people with resources if accessibility is limited. Making it accessible to everyone in need makes case for human rights and leaving no one behind.