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In the United States, the end of national abortion rights could be closer than we think. In South Africa, laws to permit terminations don’t have to be in trouble – people struggle to get abortions anyway.

Unintended pregnancy rates of women aged 15 to 49 years are nearly three times higher in Africa than in Europe or North America. Here are some of the reasons why.

Abortion has been legal in South Africa for more than 25 years. Yet illegal providers continue to put people’s lives at risk. Dubious providers can exploit platforms like Google Search and Facebook to advertise their services. Tshinondiwa Ramaite from the reproductive health organisation, Ipas, explains how to spot ads from a bogus clinic.

Abortions can be done using two methods. One is called a medical abortion and the other is surgical, which involves a small procedure. When a pregnancy is past 12 weeks only doctors are allowed to do it. We speak to Marie Stopes SA about how a surgical abortion works and what you can expect.

Successfully talking about sexual health on social media means moving away from fearful and stigmatising messaging. Young people are more likely to engage with information about safe sex if it’s tailored to them and includes visuals.

Private clinics started to offer phone-in abortion services when COVID-19 lockdowns began in 2020. Forty one per cent of the terminations of pregnancies Marie Stopes South Africa did since January 2020 were such self-managed terminations. Mohale Moloi asked Melusi Dhlamini, who headed up the introduction of self-managed abortions by Marie Stopes at the time, how such terminations work.

Fully vaccinated adults in South Africa will be able to choose whether to get the Johnson & Johnson or the Pfizer vaccine when they queue for a booster dose.

Bhekisisa has worked to create an updated database of telephone numbers for South Africa’s public sector abortion clinics since 2017. We’re still at it, and we’re proud to present the only tool that gives people the information they need without having to spend money on airtime or transport.

Abortion services only got a national “how to” document for doctors 23 years after termination of pregnancy was legalised in South Africa. And while the new rules go a long way to remove barriers to ending a pregnancy, non-profits say crucial information such as a simple list of telephone numbers is still lacking.

This database shows you where you can find safe family planning services near you. It’s verified two to four times a year by a dedicated team of data capturers and ‘secret shopper’ callers.

This free tool will point you to gender-based violence services closest to you – no mobile data required.

Bhekisisa and the Triad Trust are teaming up to track South Africa’s sexual health services such as abortion, family planning and counselling services for survivors of gender-based violence. Help us expand this free database.

South Africa lost one of its most prominent HIV doctors, Sindisiwe Van Zyl this weekend due to COVID-related complications. She’ll be remembered for her ability to make HIV and reproductive health knowledge accessible to her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers.

Many people with physical disabilities find it hard to access sexual and reproductive health services — and it’s often the prejudice of those without disabilities that stands in their way.

The police recently announced 30 gender-based violence hot spots to which additional resources will be directed to address violence against women. But the methods they used to identify these areas are flawed —and the hot spots might be elsewhere.

A study among adolescents and young women in South African universities found that girls who had experienced sexual violence were more likely to report an unintended pregnancy compared with those who had never experienced sexual violence.