Background
Complications from unsafe abortions is one of the leading causes of maternal death in Tanzania. Despite this, there is no comprehensive SRHR education in the Tanzanian school curriculum and young people have an unmet need for accurate information on safe sex, contraceptives and how and where to seek help when needed. Abortion is highly restricted in Tanzania, which means many women have abortions performed by unskilled personnel.

About the project
This project was created to raise awareness on how to prevent unsafe abortions among adolescents in selected primary and secondary schools in Dar es Salaam and Mtwara. This included sensitizing teachers on the prevention of unsafe abortions and contraceptive use and providing adolescents with information about contraceptives and where to access SRHR services. The project team also linked the schools with nearby health facilities and sensitized the service provides on how to treat adolescents with a youth friendly attitude.

Results
By the end of the project, 1800 pupils in Dar es Salaam and 520 in Mtwara had been educated on the prevention of unsafe abortions, contraceptives, emergency pills and where to access SRHR services, such as contraceptives and counselling. 14 teachers were also trained, including head teachers and counsellors. The schools in both areas had been linked to health centres and sexual and reproductive health clubs were established in all schools.

Going forward, the project team are continuing their work with the adolescents and teachers, to keep increasing the awareness on how to prevent unsafe abortions and strengthen young people’s access to SRHR services.