Expanding access to safe, comprehensive abortion care presents a critical opportunity to protect the health and rights of millions of women worldwide. By leveraging data and innovative tools, a silent challenge is transformed into actionable solutions that save lives and promote equity.
Through the work of BRIDGES for comprehensive abortion care , HRP (the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction) is working with ministries of health, country offices and civil society organizations to not only collect, but also use local data to improve access to comprehensive abortion care. Called We Care (Workshops for Evidence for Complications of Abortion Reduction), the project makes use of the World Health Organization (WHO)-supported nationally representative health facility surveys, known as Harmonized Health Facility Assessments (HHFA). Already implemented in more than 20 countries, and growing, these surveys offer countries a powerful tool to strengthen their health systems. While the surveys include quality abortion care questions, most countries were not using the nationally representative abortion data.
Turning data into action
We Care fosters collaboration and includes mentorship and data analysis support from HRP Alliance regional hubs in Africa – Kenya at the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Burkina Faso at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS) and Ghana at the University of Ghana School of Public Health (UGSPH).
So far, as part of the We Care project, 17 country teams from the African and Asian regions have used the abortion-related data in their HHFA survey and other available data for evidence-based action, combining skills gained during manuscript and policy brief development workshops offered through the project, with an innovative bottleneck analysis tool to inform policy briefs and policy dialogues. The We Care bottleneck analysis digital tool, developed with the support of HRP, allows teams to test different scenarios and visualize their impact.
Chris Ebong, Senior Medical Officer in the Reproductive and Child Health Department at Uganda's Ministry of Health, observed, "The We Care tool enables managers to prioritize which areas to invest in to improve abortion care."
Ebenezer Amankwah, from the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, emphasized, "We have the data, and that data can support advocacy, resource allocation and planning." He further said that through using the tool, he saw that even a modest increase in the proportion of facilities offering abortion care could have a great impact on reducing unsafe abortion.
Building capacity across regions
HRP supported a We Care knowledge translation workshop in Nairobi in November 2025, which brought together participants from Asia and Africa, where the burden of unsafe abortion is disproportionately high due to restrictive laws, limited service readiness and inequities in access, which continue to undermine women's health and rights.
"This in‑person workshop provides a great learning opportunity to support policy influence work and to reduce unsafe abortions across the globe, including in my country, Pakistan," said Dr Aisha Fatima, Head of Programmes at Ipas Pakistan.
Online trainings before the workshop, focusing on manuscript writing and policy briefs, ensured teams arrived prepared to turn data into calls for action. "To me, this is a great example of how research capacity strengthening can be powerful in making sure that the evidence we generate can be used by countries to drive sustainable change," said Dr Vanessa Brizuela, Technical Officer leading on research capacity strengthening at HRP.
The manuscripts and policy briefs developed by country teams will be further refined and policy briefs will help shape policy dialogues throughout 2026.
"This work supports country teams to drive the research. Country teams own the analysis, the evidence and the interpretations. Strong evidence will improve programmes and policies to prevent unsafe abortion, improve care for complications and advance reproductive rights," Dr Heidi Johnston, lead for the We Care project at HRP said.
A collective call to action
By being part of this work, partners reaffirm their commitment to reducing unsafe abortion and strengthening health systems.
As Albert Ndagijimana, from the University of Rwanda, stated: "We don't want any maternal death due to lack of awareness or failure to seek adequate care." This aspiration is at the heart of We Care. It shows that with the right evidence and country‑led action, progress is possible and lives can be saved. It underscores the importance of work that can be used as a model for regions worldwide, ensuring women and girls can access comprehensive sexual and reproductive care, including safe abortion.
The work and impact described here have been funded by the Government of Canada through the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), a cosponsored programme executed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
