Lamin Idriss Conteh (Cazorla)
The People’s Alliance for Reproductive Health Advocacy (PARHA) Coalition last week engaged Media practitioners at the YMCA Hall, Fort Street in Freetown on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights issues. Organizers said the objective was to support them in their plans in achieving the “Safe Abortion” campaign.
Leaders in this reproductive campaign say that sexual reproductive health is not only meant for women but men too and that it is important to advocate for the safety of each and every party.
The People’s Alliance for Reproductive Health Advocacy is a coalition of persons from different works of life.
Speaking to reporters, the vice chair of the organization, Theresa Ojong, outlined some of the issues affecting women in the society, ranging from sexual assault, rape and early marriage. She said they have been trying over the years to make sure that they change people’s perceptions on abortion, noting that abortion is a major contributor to maternal mortality in the country, which stands at 1,360 per 100,000 live births, according to UN data for 2015.
Abortion, Ojong stressed, is the 4th leading cause of maternal deaths in the country, noting that about 25% of maternal deaths in hospitals are caused by unsafe abortion complications, citing a Ministry of Health Cabinet Paper 2018.
Ojong further explained that approximately 41.1% of Sierra Leone’s population is under 15 years of age, noting that 21% of girls 15-19 years began childbearing at that age by 2018, and 18% of girls from 15-19 years had a live birth in the same year, while teenagers 15-19 years account for 40% of maternal deaths.
Ojong goes on to outline the 2016 Maternal Death Surveillance Response (MDSR) Data, which states that abortion from ages 12-19 was 21.3%, ages 20-24 30.8%, 25-35 years accounting for 35.5% , and 35 years and above at 7.7%.
According to Ojong, as an organization, their aim is to see that women’s rights are being advocated for and to ensure that human rights and dignity are upheld. She made it clear that PARHA is legally registered and that they have been training people and empowering them on how to handle issues concerning sexual reproductive health.
The chairman for PARHA, Fodie Paul Oniel Kamara, advised journalists on the language they must use in reporting sexual reproductive health issues in their reporting. He stressed that their aim is to see “safe abortion” is carried out successfully. He said as an advocacy network, they have had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Inter-Religious Council Sierra Leone on how they will help them carry their plan about safe abortion, and for abortion not to be looked at the other way round.
He later gave some instances why abortion is good, saying that if a woman is raped and she is allowed to give birth to the child, the mother will not have love for that child because she would always think that she was raped in the process.
Kamara said their campaign started way back in 2010, but faced a number of obstacles along the way.
The Public Relations Officer for PARHA, George Mustapha, suggested that there is a need to create a peaceful environment for women in the society. He spoke of how they have had engagements with stakeholders on the issues on rape, early marriage, sexual assault and how these issues can be tackled. He said they are also trying to see how they can change the myths surrounding Sexual Reproductive System.
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