Thyolo registers 63 postal abortion cases per month
Thyolo district health officer Dr. Andrew Likaka says he is concerned about the high number of postal abortion care cases the district registers every month.
Dr. Likaka expressed the concern on Tuesday when some journalists visited Thyolo District Hospital. The media tour was organised by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) as part of a family planning workshop for the journalists.
Likaka said most victims of the abortion cases are mostly between the ages of 16 and 24.
“The district has a population of over 622 636 and out of this figure, 140 915 are childbearing age women.
“Some of these women live in the remotest areas of the district which makes it difficult for us to reach them although we have 170 outreach clinics. And receiving over 63 postal abortion cases monthly means every day the hospital handles two to three such cases,” said Likaka.
Likaka said there is need to increase access to family planning services to ensure that the facilities are available all the time.
PRB country coordinator Sandra Mapemba said it is high time the youth started taking family planning methods and not to wait until something goes wrong.
