Inside Uganda’s Underground Abortion Market: Full Details Revealed

Uganda’s fight against illegal abortion faces a daunting adversary: an expanding underground network of brokers who charge up to Shs500,000 to secretly guide young girls into backdoor clinics.Operating in districts such as Mukono, Masaka, Mbale, Wakiso, Mengo, and the outskirts of Kampala, these brokers have forged a shadow economy that runs on fear, secrecy, and desperation. Girls are urged to make payments via mobile money, often to numbers linked to doctors or intermediaries working outside the bounds of medical regulation.

What begins as a phone call often ends with a risky procedure in a hidden facility. Walk-ins are rare; appointments are strictly coordinated to avoid detection. For many, it’s a terrifying exchange born from limited options and societal stigma.

“I didn’t know where else to go,” one survivor shared anonymously. “They told me it was safe if I paid in advance and kept quiet.”

Uganda’s laws allow abortion only in life-threatening circumstances. Outside that narrow exception, the practice carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison, and those facilitating it—including brokers and clinic staff—are equally liable.

But these harsh restrictions haven’t stopped the trade. Instead, they’ve driven it underground, where oversight is nonexistent and girls endure procedures without proper care or emotional support.

“This is not just a legal issue—it’s a public health emergency,” said a reproductive rights advocate.

The brokers market secrecy as security, yet hundreds of girls face lasting physical and emotional damage. Some clinics operate without licensed practitioners, and follow-up care is almost never available.

This thriving black market exposes the dangerous gap between law and lived reality. Until that gap is addressed—with honest policy review and comprehensive reproductive education—the merchants of despair will continue to profit from Uganda’s silence