Millions of women around the world urgently needed better access to contraception to prevent 100,000 deaths a year from unsafe abortions, health experts warned.

"Abortions cause deaths which could be prevented if women used contraceptives," said the chair of the newly-formed Asia Pacific Council on Contraception (APCOC), Biran Affandi.

"Family planning, contraception, is a basic need in reproductive health, just like we need clean water and nutritious food," he said at the weekend.

Some 100,000 deaths from abortion-related complications were expected yearly, while 123 million women worldwide did not use contraceptives, with some unaware of their availability or benefits, APCOC had found.

"Ten to 30 percent of maternal deaths are caused by abortions," Affandi told AFP , adding most of the fatalities were from illegal procedures.

Maternal deaths are defined as mortalities during pregnancy or up to six weeks after delivery.

The group, launched at the weekend, gathered obstetricians and gynecologists from Southeast Asia, Australia and East Asia, and had initial funding from German drug maker Schering.

APCOC said it aimed to prevent high numbers of abortions and unwanted pregnancies in the Asia-Pacific by promoting education on contraception.

Of 46 million abortions carried out yearly around the world, 20 million were clandestine and generally unsafe, according to US-based research cited by APCOC.

Religion's role

While more women were using contraception worldwide, a lack of understanding and awareness about methods meant many chose abortion over contraception, said the experts.

Religion also played a dominant role in Asian countries such as Muslim Indonesia or the predominantly Catholic Philippines, and Affandi said experts and governments had to overcome opposition to contraception from religious leaders.

"We really have to talk with the religious leaders. We have to say, look, this is what we're offering the people. These are the basic needs of the people," said Affandi, also professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.

The APCOC launch comes ahead of a conference of obstetricians and gynecologists beginning today Monday, expected to draw some 8,000 participants from 130 countries.

The five-day triennial congress of the International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) will see the release Monday of the triennial World Report on Women's Health.

The report was expected to show that progress on preventable deaths and serious illness in women was "unacceptably slow", guest editor for the report and FIGO president-elect, Dorothy Shaw, told AFP .

"There are 22 chapters in the report and a significant number of them are focused on maternal mortality because it is still a very serious problem," she said.