Fact Sheet: Abortion Incidence and Severity of Complications in Sierra Leone

Abstract

This fact sheet presents key findings from a nationally representative study conducted in Sierra Leone by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Statistics Sierra Leone, the African Population and Health Research Center, and the Guttmacher Institute. The study set out to estimate the incidence of induced abortion nationwide, describe the characteristics of women who sought abortion-related care at health facilities, document the nature and severity of abortion-related complications, and assess the quality of care women received. Sierra Leone maintains restrictive abortion laws, permitting the procedure only to save a woman's life, in cases of rape or incest, or to preserve physical and mental health, and unsafe abortion continues to be a significant contributor to the country's maternal mortality burden. The fact sheet distills the study's headline statistics into an accessible format for policymakers, health providers, and advocates, highlighting the scale of induced abortion, the profile of affected women, and gaps in access to safe, timely post-abortion care. The data are intended to inform ongoing legislative and programmatic efforts to expand access to safe abortion and reproductive health services and to reduce preventable maternal deaths linked to unsafe abortion in the country.