Strengthening the Evidence Base: SPIRHR’s Role in Advancing Abortion Research and Capacity in Ethiopia

Background

Access to safe abortion and post-abortion care is essential to comprehensive reproductive health. However, policies and practices often rely on incomplete evidence. In Ethiopia, St. Paul Institute for Reproductive Health and Rights (SPIRHR) supports efforts to strengthen the generation and use of abortion evidence. Through training, research, advocacy, and clinical service, SPIRHR is building a robust evidence base to improve practice and policy nationwide.

Institutional leadership in abortion research

Established in September 2019, SPIRHR is a locally registered non-profit organization dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights. The institute operates through its four strategic pillars, Training, Research, Advocacy, and Clinical Service (TRAC), with the overarching goal of reducing maternal morbidity and mortality while enabling women and girls to realize their full health potential.

SPIRHR is a founding member of the Africa Coalition for Research and Communication on Abortion (ACORCA), an African-led initiative dedicated to strengthening the generation, dissemination, and use of abortion-related evidence across the continent. Through its engagement in this coalition, SPIRHR contributes to regional efforts that promote high-quality research and effective knowledge translation. This collaboration helps ensure that evidence produced in Africa is contextually relevant and responsive to the needs, priorities, and realities of countries across the region, ultimately supporting informed policy development and clinical practice.

The institute works in close collaboration with St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC), one of the country’s largest referral teaching hospitals, to share expertise, training platforms, and clinical resources. This partnership strengthens the delivery of high-quality reproductive health services and advances research.

Integrating clinical practice and research: The Michu Clinic

A key component of SPIRHR’s clinical and training platform is Michu Clinic, “Michu,” meaning “comfortable” in a local language, located within the Center of Excellence in Reproductive Health at SPHMMC. The clinic functions as a model facility demonstrating how evidence-based reproductive health care can be delivered in an integrated, respectful, client-centered manner.

MICHU provides free, comprehensive reproductive health services, including family planning, safe abortion and post-abortion care, gender-based violence screening and management, and cervical cancer prevention services. The clinic also serves as a clinical training and demonstration site for healthcare providers and trainees, enabling practitioners to acquire practical skills in delivering high-quality abortion and reproductive health care.

Building research capacity to address evidence gaps

Recognizing the need for stronger evidence to inform reproductive health programs and policies, SPIRHR has prioritized abortion research capacity strengthening. Research on abortion often involves methodological challenges due to stigma, legal sensitivities, and difficulties in collecting accurate data. To address these issues, SPIRHR partnered with the Guttmacher Institute and the School of Public Health at Addis Ababa University to implement a comprehensive initiative aimed at strengthening both institutional and individual research capacity in Ethiopia. At the core of this initiative is a structured mentorship model that pairs early and mid-career researchers with experienced mentors. These mentors provide technical guidance throughout the research process, from proposal development and study design to data analysis, manuscript preparation, and publication.

To ensure policy relevance, research priorities are identified in consultation with national stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, the Consortium of Reproductive Health Associations (CORHA), and other partners. This collaborative approach ensures that research outputs directly address pressing policy and programmatic questions.

Looking ahead, SPIRHR remains committed to supporting the expansion of both the clinical service model and its research capacity initiatives. By fostering a network of skilled researchers and generating context-specific evidence, the institute is helping ensure that clinical practices and reproductive health policies in Ethiopia are grounded in rigorous scientific evidence.

Ultimately, SPIRHR’s collaborative endeavor demonstrates that strengthening research capacity is not merely an academic exercise. It is a critical investment in evidence-based healthcare systems that protect the health, rights, and well-being of women and girls.