A new study finds nearly half of all 55.7 million estimated abortions around the world each year between 2010 and 2014 were performed in an unsafe manner, putting women at risk for serious complications. , The study published Wednesday in the journal The Lancet , suggests that unsafe abortions are still a major health problem globally, especially in developing countries. "These are the first global estimates to show the distribution of the abortions across three safety categories," said Dr. Bela Ganatra, a scientist at the department of reproductive health and research at the World Health Organization and lead author of the study.  TIME Health For more, visit TIME Health 
 
 About half of all abortions that take place around the world are considered unsafe, a new report reveals. Researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Guttmacher Institute looked at abortions performed worldwide and classified the procedures as as safe, less safe and least safe, based on what methods were used and whether a trained provider was involved. The study found that there were 55.7 million abortions every year between 2010 and 2014 worldwide, and of them 17.1 million were unsafe because the woman was taking pills alone or was with a trained helper but using a method of abortion that is no longer considered best practice. Overall, almost all abortions in developed countries were deemed safe, whereas roughly half of those in developing countries were safe, according to the findings. "While both Africa and Latin America had low proportions of abortions that were carried out in safe conditions, it was striking to note that among the unsafe abortions, the vast majority in the Latin America region were performed under less safe conditions (59.7%) while in Africa the majority of unsafe abortions were performed under the least safe conditions (48%)," she said. But at the same time, not dying is not enough.” 
 
 Deaths are highest in west and central Africa, at around 450 per 100,000 abortions, although the study authors warn that the mortality estimates are based on data from different time periods. Among the unsafe abortions, nearly 31% were classified by the study authors as less safe. She pointed to Nepal Ethiopia , and Uruguay as examples of countries that have made progress in expanding access to safe abortion procedures, she said. The new figures, from the WHO with the Guttmacher Institute, are published in the Lancet medical journal at a time when international family planning organisations are deeply concerned over cuts to their budgets announced by the Trump administration in the United States. If they access the pills through a telemedicine service such as Women on Web which gives them information and support, the study classifies this as safe abortion, she said. Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.
– Between 2010 and 2014, nearly 56 million women around the world got abortions each year—and the World Health Organization has found that almost half of them weren't safe. Per a WHO/Guttmacher Institute study published in the Lancet journal, of those 55.7 million annual abortions, just over 17 million fell into the "less safe" category, either because women used a mostly safe method (such as taking misoprostol pills) but without the guidance of a trained professional, or had a trained provider but used outdated methods. An additional 8 million abortions veered into the "least safe" category, using what the Guardian calls "desperate and dangerous backstreet measures," including everything from "ingestion of caustic substances" to "insertion of foreign bodies." The WHO looked at data from 182 countries and regions and found almost all of the abortions performed in developed countries were safe. In both Africa and Latin America, fewer than one in four abortions were considered safe, with the highest percentage of "least safe" abortions taking place in Africa (especially in the middle of the continent), where almost half of the pregnancy terminations fell into this most-perilous category. Per CNN, unsafe abortions can lead to everything from hemorrhaging and infection to incomplete abortions and even death. "It's sad that there are so many unsafe abortions, when actually the science and technology for ... safe [abortions] ... is very simple," study lead author Dr. Bela Ganatra says, per Time. (A story about Down syndrome in Iceland set off a fierce debate on abortion.)