Medical Abortion conference in South Asia

Gynuity Health Projects organized a conference “Medical abortion in South Asia: What is New? What is Next?” on October 23-24, 2008 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Almost 100 people attended the conference, including participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Afghanistan. The conference was inaugurated by Dr. Meera Ojha from the Ministry of Health and Population in Nepal, as well as key representatives from other South Asian countries. Highlights of the conference include a survey of the boom of mifepristone and misoprostol products and their use in the private sector in India, as well as identification of gaps in information on how women are using the method. In Nepal, the role of medical abortion as part of the comprehensive abortion care project developed by the Ministry of Health and Population and key partner agencies, was shared with participants. Bangladeshi colleagues explored the potential to introduce medical abortion drugs within the menstrual regulation program in their country, while experiences providing the method in highly restrictive settings such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka were shared by others.

The conference provided an opportunity for participants to share research updates and exchange information and strategies to newly introduce medical abortion and expand access to the method where already available. South Asia is a diverse and populous region where medical abortion is already being used by millions of women. The conference confirmed that there is much scope for improving the quality of services, decreasing cost, and increasing use of the method by millions more.