Botswana Assistance to Curb Unintended Pregnancies and Maternal Mortality through Capacity Strengthening Project.
Situation:
Botswana’s maternal mortality ratio is 175.5 per 100,000 live births, well above the SDG target of fewer than 70. Over half of pregnancies are unintended, with adolescents accounting for over 40%. Rural and economically disadvantaged populations are disproportionately affected. Given Botswana’s restrictive abortion laws, limited access to effective contraception increases the risks of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and preventable maternal deaths.
Objectives:
The goal of this humanitarian, direct healthcare training and provision project is to contribute to the reduction of unintended pregnancy and preventable maternal mortality in Botswana, through capacitating healthcare providers engaged in antenatal, maternity, post-abortion and (SRH) and reproductive health and family planning services, and integrating the offer of post pregnancy initiation of long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods into routine services, with comprehensive counselling, youth-friendly approaches, mental health and GBV support.
The project aims to reduce unintended pregnancies and preventable maternal deaths in Botswana by strengthening healthcare providers’ capacity, expanding inclusive post-pregnancy SRH and contraceptive services, and integrating LARC, mental health and GBV support into routine care. It will build sustainable Ministry of Health systems to enable national scale-up of the BACkUP_Plus model.
The project will strengthen services in four hospitals, training 90% of healthcare providers and establishing 12 Trainers of Trainers and 4 SRHR Champions. It will provide contraceptive counselling to 24,000 women, reach 5,000 adolescents and support 1,000 women with mental health and GBV services, benefiting 487,000 people overall.
To embed healthcare provider training, service integration, and monitoring systems into Botswana Ministry of Health structures, supported by trainers of trainers (ToTs), champions and national commodity supply, creating the conditions for sustainable scale-up of the BACkUP model across Botswana.
The project is unique because it combines post-pregnancy contraception with SRH outreach, mental health and GBV support. Its holistic, rights-based approach addresses the interconnected vulnerabilities of adolescents, survivors of violence, and women experiencing pregnancy loss, providing comprehensive care beyond contraception alone.
