Promoting access to medical abortion in the context of safe abortion worldwide

1

• Promoting access to medical abortion in the
  context of safe abortion worldwide
• Rodica Comendant MD, PhD,
• ICMA Coordinator
• AWID Forum,
• Cape Town, SA, November 2008

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ICMA

• ICMA was formed in June 2002 as a platform for
  advocacy, debate and dialogue, bringing together
  key players in the field, including advocates,
  service providers, policymakers and researchers
  from all regions of the world with the
• aim
• to promote access to medical abortion in the
  context of support for safe abortion worldwide,
  focusing on the needs of women in developing
  countries, especially those where safe abortion
  is not easily accessible.

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ICMA

• Growing international membership, gt150 members
  worldwide, mostly from developing countries.
• Steering Committee 6 members (UK, USA, India,
  Ghana, Egypt, Argentina)
• The chair and co-chair
• WHO observer
• Coordinating organization, (coordinator,
  assistant, financial officer)

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ICMA Activities

• International Conference Medical Abortion An
  International Forum on Policies, Programmes and
  Services, October 2004, Johannesburg, South
  Africa.
• Conference on Second Trimester Abortion, March
  2007, London
• ICMA third international Conference in 2009
  Medical Abortion Successes, Risks,
  Controversies, Growing Pains, Keeping a Balance

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ICMA Activities Development of the Information
Package on Medical abortion

• Comprehensive information package in
• seven languages that can be adapted and used
  in many settings, addressed to women
• health service providers womens
  organizations, NGOs policymakers and
  parliamentarians, and selected recourses on
  MA.
• CDs, website www.medicalabortionconsortium.org
  

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Supporting the development of regional networks

• Latin-American network CLACAI (Latino American
  Consortium Against Unsafe Abortion), 2006
• Asia Safe Abortion Partnership ASAP, launched in
  March 2008
• East European Region Network East European
  Alliance for Reproductive Choice, June, 2008
• Goal To protect womens reproductive health by
  ensuring their reproductive rights and
  reproductive choice, including the access to safe
  abortion
•  

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African network on safe abortion (?)

• Potential participants have been selected and
  contacted
• Caucus at AWID Forum Forming an African network
  to Promote Medical Abortion in the Context of
  Safe abortion (Sunday 16th November, lunch time,
  Room 1.63/4)
• Regional meeting, early 2009 (?)

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Potential common goals of regional networks

• The establishment of local sources of accurate
  information for the region.
• Development of region-specific strategies for
  promoting medical abortion within the context of
  safe abortion
• Appropriate advocacy strategies to integrate
  medical abortion services and policy in countries
  
• Highlighting regional specificities that will
  make the networks relevant.
• Others

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ICMA

• While the regional networks will be autonomous,
  they will be invited to affiliate to ICMA and to
  support the overall objective of the ICMA.
• Advocate for access to safe abortion including
  medical abortion
• www.medicalabortionconsortium.org