For nearly ten years, comprehensive abortion care has been available at Jemo Health Centre on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. Tewodros Tibebu, a health care worker at the centre, has worked in comprehensive abortion care for four years.
/sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-research-(srh)/prevention-of-unsafe-abortion-(pua)/portrait-of-tewodros-tibebu.tmb-479v.jpg?sfvrsn=4c029114_1 "Portrait of Tewodros Tibebu")
While comprehensive abortion care has been widely legal in Ethiopia since 2005, access remains challenging.
Tewodros says he sees every day how social barriers delay care.
“The biggest challenge is stigma,” he says. “Many women are afraid someone will recognize them when they come here. Others do not even know the service exists.”
Most women arrive through word of mouth, Tewodros says.
Some first seek care at private clinics where services are provided by untrained practitioners. By the time they reach Jemo, some are already seriously ill, dealing with infections or sepsis that could have been prevented.
As only one of three trained health workers providing abortion care at Jemo, Tewodros says that even he experiences stigma at times. “Some coworkers oppose the comprehensive abortion care department,” Tewodros says. “Some people in my community do not know what I do.”
After I received specific training, I understood the work differently and could provide the care women need.
Training helped him reconcile the challenges of the role. “Before, it was difficult,” he says. “After I received specific training, I understood the work differently and could provide the care women need.”
The realities Tewodros describes are shared by many providers delivering abortion care: complex clinical decisions, ethical responsibility and the need for consistent, evidence‑based guidance.
These challenges are at the heart of the new comprehensive abortion care learning programme launched by HRP, the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction.
Available through the WHO Academy, the programme brings together four complementary courses: medical abortion, surgical abortion, post‑abortion care, and human rights integration in comprehensive abortion care. Learning is modular and interactive, allowing health workers to engage with decision points similar to those they face in daily practice.
The human rights integration course brings the full pathway into view, linking clinical care with principles such as privacy, non‑discrimination and accountability. Together, the four courses provide a shared foundation that supports safer, rights‑based care.
For Tewodros, training affirms both the technical and human dimensions of comprehensive abortion care. “People may not understand what we do,” he says. “But when you think about the woman in front of you, the decision is clear. You are helping someone.”