Media Urged to Amplify Voices Against Unsafe Abortions
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The Programme Officer for Ladder for Rural Development (LAFORD), Olivia Mandalasi, has urged media practitioners in Malawi to scale up awareness campaigns on the dangers of unsafe abortions, warning that the silent crisis continues to cost many women their lives.
Speaking in Salima during a two-day media orientation, Mandalasi emphasized that journalists play a vital role in shaping public opinion and influencing policies that safeguard women’s reproductive health.
“Unsafe abortions remain one of the leading causes of maternal deaths in the country. We need the media to use its platforms to educate communities and break the silence around this issue,” she said.
The orientation was part of a broader two-year initiative that LAFORD is implementing in partnership with Umunthu FM across Ntchisi and Kasungu districts.
The project aims to increase community understanding of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and to create dialogue around the proposed Termination of Pregnancy Bill.
Umunthu FM Project Officer, Yamikani Mwawa, expressed concern over the alarming rates of unsafe abortions, noting that an estimated 70 percent of Malawian women who terminate pregnancies do so illegally every year — putting their lives at great risk.
“We cannot continue to lose women to preventable causes. Strengthening information sharing and public debate is key to changing perceptions,” Mwawa added.
On his part, Christopher Kandiomanso, Health Systems Officer for Ipas Africa Southern Region (ASR), echoed similar sentiments, urging stakeholders to push for responsive policies that protect women’s health and rights.
Reproductive health advocates have repeatedly called on lawmakers to review the country’s restrictive abortion law, arguing that the current legal framework endangers the lives of girls and women by forcing them into secrecy and unsafe medical practices.
As the debate continues, organizations like LAFORD, Umunthu FM, and Ipas ASR believe that amplifying public awareness — particularly through the media — remains one of the most powerful tools in ending unsafe abortions and promoting reproductive justice for all women in Malawi.
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