Anand Tamang, MPhil¹, Dr. Sona Sethi², Binod Nepal, MA¹, Seerat Nasir, MBBS, MA (HSS)³, and Renuka Gurung, MA¹. (1) Center for Research on Environment Health and Population Activities, Ekantakuna, Jawlakhel, P O Box 9626, Kathmandu, Nepal, (2) Asia Regional Office, Planned Parenthood Federation of America-International, 37 Petchburi Road, Soi 15, Bangkok, Thailand, (66-2) 254-8954, sona.sethi@ppfa.org, (3) Asia Regional Office, Planned Parenthood Federation of America International, 37, Petchburi Road, Soi 15, Bangkok, Thailand

The new legislation permits unconditional rights to abortion to all Nepalese women up to 12 weeks of gestation. The baseline survey conducted in June 2003, about nine months after the legislation showed that only 15% of the 1,100 rural married women of reproductive age (MWRA) interviewed were aware of the new abortion law, and 56 percent still believed that abortion was illegal in the country. About 17% of MWRA had sought abortion services from the private sector in the 12 months preceding the survey, and most of them (83%) would approve their family members seeking legal and safe abortion. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America – International (PPFA-I) has supported a research organization to enhance women's awareness about the Abortion Law, increase positive attitudes of village opinion leaders towards abortion rights for women and to strengthen the capacity of community volunteers to act as primary referral units for safe abortion care services. This behavior change communication (BCC) project was implemented in the six rural districts where the Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) had initiated safe abortion services through PPFA-I co-funding. The present paper compares the results of the base-line and the end-line surveys to assess the effectiveness of the BCC in creating awareness and building supports for expanding access to safe abortion services through non-governmental organizations in rural Nepal.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to

• Understand the changes in the level of knowledge among married women, about their abortion rights and the extent of utilization of reproductive health and abortion services provided by FPAN.
• Discuss the BCC strategies adopted in enhancing women's awareness about the law, place for obtaining safe abortion services and in building positive attitude among the community leaders towards abortion rights for women.

Keywords: Abortion, Access and Services

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.