Advocacy win: MSI Uganda supports ground-breaking abortion guidelines

History was made in Uganda at the recent 5th National Safe Motherhood Conference in Kampala, where the National Post-Abortion Care (PAC) Guidelines were officially launched by the Ministry of Health.

​Previous regulatory guidance was withdrawn in 2016 and although PAC was occasionally mentioned, the guidance was brief and often contradictory, contributing to misinformation.

The 2025 guidelines are ground-breaking, they reinforce that the following circumstances are acceptable criteria to ‘save the life’ of a pregnant woman needing an abortion:

• Severe maternal illness threatening the health of a pregnant woman
• Severe foetal anomalies incompatible with extra uterine life
• Rape, incest and defilement

This expands the range of reasons under which abortion can be provided legally.

The guidelines also permit midwives to provide services at lower level facilities, increasing access for rural and underserved women. They streamline service delivery, standardise procedures, and integrate quality assurance, counselling, and follow-up elements that were inconsistently applied before.

The National PAC Steering Committee was the platform for convening partners around the guideline development process. MSI Uganda was an active member of the group, leading advocacy efforts for these guidelines. The Uganda team’s PAC Guidelines served as the foundational reference for the Ministry of Health’s national version, significantly shaping the structure, clinical flow, and content. MSI Uganda also led technical discussions on pain management, provider competencies, and client safety, ensuring global standards were reflected in the final document. Their evidence and field experience demonstrated safe, high-quality PAC models, reinforcing confidence in midwife-led provision and informed the national approach.

Next steps

One of the major barriers to implementation of the guidelines and services in the health system is a Iack of budget allocation for provider training, as well as drug and equipment procurement. MSI Uganda will continue to work with the Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality Due to Unsafe Abortion and Rapid Response Task Force to advocate for resource allocation for PAC services at national and district level.