Strengthening the local health system for improved coverage and access to quality medical abortion (MA) services in Nepal

PSI aims to improve the access, equity, and quality of MA services for Nepali women by strengthening the health system at the local level, developing a replicable model of provincial and municipal ownership of comprehensive abortion care and integration of abortion providers into financing, health information, and quality assurance processes.

Despite legalization of abortion in 2002, many Nepali women – especially low-income women and those living in geographically isolated communities – are still unable to access quality legal abortion services. PSI Nepal has an opportunity to sustainably address this challenge and develop learnings to influence Nepal and other countries in a similar situation by strengthening local governments to increase access to abortion services from both public and private health facilities and by linking private health facilities with local governments for provision of free MA services through a service cost reimbursement mechanism, which will remove cost as a barrier to quality services.