Effectiveness of economic support, comprehensive sexuality education and community dialogue on early childbearing and sitting for grade nine exams among adolescent girls in rural Zambia: a cluster randomised trial.

Background: Adolescent pregnancies pose a risk to young mothers and their babies. In Zambia, one third of 18-year-old girls have given birth. Poverty, low secondary school enrolment, misinformation, and community norms contribute to early childbearing.

From political priority to service delivery: complexities to real-life priority of abortion services in Ethiopia.

Improving access to abortion services has been coined a high priority by the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health. Nevertheless, many women are still struggling to access abortion services. The dedicated commitment to expanding abortion services by central authorities and the difficulties in further improving access to the services make for an interesting case to explore the real-life complexities of health priority setting.

"We need to confirm at least from two or three": Healthcare workers' discretion as gatekeepers in the context of the Ethiopian abortion law.

Introduction: Women's access to legal and safe abortion is a vital means to reduce unsafe abortion, which in turn is known to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. In 2005, Ethiopia enacted a relatively permissive abortion legislation. However, there is evidence that access to abortion care services may be challenging and controversial even if progressive abortion laws are in place.

Between 'block course relationships and abstinence: cultures of sexuality among students at Addis Ababa University.

Inspired by African and other feminist scholarship on gender, sexuality and agency, this article studies narrations of norms and practices in sexual relationships between university students. A main aim of the article is to move beyond the problem focus in earlier scholarship on women, sexuality and reproduction, and to identify potential spaces of freedom and expansion of female agency. The article is based on qualitative research conducted with students at Addis Ababa University.

Health workers' experience of providing second-trimester abortion care in Ethiopia: a qualitative study.

Background: Second-trimester abortions are less common than abortions in the first trimester, yet they disproportionately account for a higher burden of abortion-related mortality and morbidity worldwide. Health workers play a crucial role in granting or denying access to these services, yet little is known about their experiences. Ethiopia has been successful in reducing mortality due to unsafe abortion over the past decade, but access to second trimester abortion remains a challenge.