From Venezuela, where the humanitarian crisis continues and termination of pregnancy is illegal in almost all circumstances, a new app has emerged that allows women to safely self-manage their abortions.
Each year, local civil society organizations estimate that about 16% of maternal deaths in Venezuela are caused by unsafe abortions, and that figure rises to 60% in rural and indigenous communities where there is no obstetric infrastructure.
Aya Contigo, a web application with full offline capabilities, hopes to help change this situation by offering women a step-by-step guide to safely self-manage a pill abortion, as well as personalized contraceptive options, referrals to a network of trusted counselors, emotional support and self-care recommendations.
It is co-designed by the Vitala Globalled by Dr. Roopan Gill and Dr. Genevieve Tam, Canadian obstetricians and friends for a decade who share a passion for global women's health, along with Venezuelan women and local organizations.
"We had strong connections with community organizations in Venezuela and wanted to work in a complex humanitarian setting with laws that restrict abortionand where there is stigmatization. Our hypothesis was that if we can show that this works there, then it will also work in less complex settings."
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