A study into abortion in Zimbabwe - where it is illegal except under particular circumstances - has found that the country has one of the lowest abortion rates in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The findings are contained in a new research study entitled: Abortion in Zimbabwe: A national study of the incidence of induced abortion, unintended pregnancy and post-abortion care in 2016.
The survey, a collaboration between the Guttmacher Institute in New York, the University of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwean health ministry, included 227 hospitals and clinics.
An estimated 66,847 induced abortions occurred in Zimbabwe in 2016 and the national abortion rate is 17.8 abortions for every 1,000 women of reproductive age. The average for the region is 34 abortions per 1,000 women.
The low abortion rate is linked to the high use of contraceptives and a robust family planning programme, the researchers found.
"However, even with a strong family planning programme and a low abortion rate, 40% of pregnancies are still unintended, suggesting that more needs to be done to help women have children if and when they want them," the study says of Zimbabwe.
The prolonged economic crisis of the past two decades is also cited as a factor that could influence the low abortion rate. The country is battling shortages in basic goods and services.
Access to legal abortion is rare and limited only to circumstances of rape, incest, foetal impairment or to save a woman's life.
"In practice, however, access to legal abortions on these grounds is difficult and rare," says the study.
"Legal and administrative barriers coupled with stigma among both women and providers, and fear of social repercussions serve to limit access to legal abortion in Zimbabwe.
"Rather than reduce abortion incidence, restrictive abortion laws like those of Zimbabwe result in women pursuing clandestine and potentially unsafe abortions," says the study.
Unsafe abortions remain a concern for health authorities, given that the country has a very high maternal mortality rate - an estimated 651 per 100,000 live births.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the only country with a comparable abortion rate is Senegal, with 17 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age.
Other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that have higher abortion rates are Rwanda (25 per 1,000 women) and Kenya (48 per 1,000 women).
A breakdown of the study shows that the Harare and Mashonaland provinces had the highest number of abortions, with 38,083.
These provinces were followed by Bulawayo and Matabeleland provinces with 17,463, and the southeastern regions of Masvingo and Manicaland with 11,301...