Women need access to information on how they can safely use abortion pills to end an unwanted pregnancy—without having to visit a health center. But as we all know, the internet is full of both correct and incorrect information, and sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference.  

In Bolivia, we’ve been addressing this problem by training volunteer “community agents” who provide women with the information needed to make their own reproductive health decisions. During the pandemic, agents say they’ve been able to provide information easily via WhatsApp and other online channels, thereby reducing the harms women may face. 

“A woman who decides to end a pregnancy will do it, without regard to any restrictions, quarantine or not,” one agent says. Information on safe options prevents women from risking their lives by turning to unsafe abortion methods or untrained providers. 

Learn more about our work to protect abortion access during the pandemic in Bolivia—as well as in places like Malawi, Nepal and Bangladesh—on our frequently updated webpage about Ipas’s COVID-19 response.