IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: 2025-2026

DONOR: Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF)

PROJECT GOAL:

To improve access to safe medical abortion services, including through telemedicine, and promote the integration of World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations into national health policies and systems across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The project also aims to strengthen the capacity of member organizations of the EECA Regional Reproductive Health and Rights Coalition to promote the rights of women and girls and their access to abortion and family planning services.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

• To increase awareness, knowledge and acceptance of medical abortion and telemedicine abortion services among policymakers, healthcare institutions, healthcare professionals and academic representatives in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Republic of Moldova.
• To promote the integration of WHO’s 2022 recommendations on abortion care, self-care and telemedicine abortion into national protocols, university medical curricula and healthcare practices.
• To strengthen the capacity of member organizations of the EECA Regional Reproductive Health and Rights Coalition through training sessions, webinars, experience sharing and access to information materials and advocacy resources on safe abortion and family planning.
• To encourage cooperation between organizations across the region and their participation in international events and conferences, increasing the visibility of safe abortion and reproductive rights issues.
• To support evidence-based advocacy and research to counter misinformation, reduce barriers to accessing services and promote women’s and girls’ autonomy in making decisions about their reproductive health.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES:

• Organizing roundtables and working meetings with representatives of Ministries of Health, academic institutions, healthcare professionals and pharmacists to present WHO recommendations on self-care in abortion and family planning and promote their integration into national policies and protocols.
• Organizing working meetings with policymakers and representatives of medical education institutions to support updates to national protocols, revisions to university curricula and training for academic staff on telemedicine medical abortion.
• Supporting national pilot studies on the provision of medical abortion services through telemedicine and analysing their results to demonstrate effectiveness, safety and user satisfaction.
• Identifying, translating, developing and distributing information and educational materials on abortion self-care and family planning through digital platforms and the Coalition’s networks.
• Organizing webinars, training sessions and capacity-building activities for Coalition members on sexual and reproductive health and rights, advocacy and the promotion of WHO recommendations.
• Encouraging Coalition members to publish articles, share experiences and information about activities in their countries, and participate as speakers at regional conferences and events.
• Facilitating experience sharing and cooperation between Coalition member organizations to identify common solutions to challenges related to access to safe abortion and the integration of self-care services into national healthcare systems.

PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED:

• Member organizations of the EECA Regional Reproductive Health and Rights Coalition
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• ASTRA Network
• DKT International
• Gynuity Health Projects
• Ministries of Health in the participating countries
• Academic and university institutions
• Local and international non-governmental organizations
• Healthcare professionals and pharmacists