In response to a story that was published yesterday, 9th May 2017, in the Daily Monitor, one of Uganda's news papers, the article entitled, "Government to stop giving drugs to health centers," is heart breaker, it left my heart shattered. At a time when the Government should be rolling out the national insurance scheme or affordable health care for everyone, we instead get sad news.
This is a confirmation that the Uganda government is slowly specialising in the violation of human rights, most especially the right to health. I am using the term "violation of rights" because the Constitution of Uganda requires the State to endeavour to fulfill the fundamental rights of all Ugandans to
social justice and economic development and in particular, ensure that all
Ugandans enjoy rights and opportunities and access to education, health
services, clean and safe water, work, decent shelter, adequate clothing, food
security and pension and retirement benefits.[2]
It is arguable that by not providing drugs, the government is not endeavouring that citizens enjoy the right to health as stipulated in the Constitution, it is therefore violating the law. It is very unfortunate that this
whole process of freezing drug supply is only going to affect the poor
Ugandans
and will result in more deaths. Most rich people can afford going to
private hospitals and getting first class health care or even travel
abroad (USA, UK, Kenya and India) as it has become a norm but where will
the poor Ugandan go?
"Drugs such as paracetamol (panadol) and morphine, a narcotic pain reliever and anti-inflammatory agent, Hepatitis B vaccines as well as surgical items such as gloves and cotton gauze and mama kits will not be provided at all health centres II, III and IV across the country."
Uganda was progressively reducing the number of
maternal deaths from 16 to 13 but unfortunately a few months from now, that
might be history. In 2015, the World Bank observed that Uganda recorded up to 343 deaths per every
100 000 live births. These deaths are due
to severe bleeding, infection, hypertensive disorders and obstructed
labour. Some are also due to pregnancy related diseases such as malaria,
diabetes, anemia and hepatitis.[1]
Let me assert that 13 women die
daily while giving birth. There are two notable cases; in 2009, Sylvia
Nalubowa died while
in labour in Mityana district in Uganda because she could not provide enough
maternity kit. In 2010, Jennifer Anguko died
under similar situation at Arua regional hospital. These are two of the many women who
die every day because they cannot get medical attention for lack of maternity
kits. How many more does the Uganda need to register before it can litigate the
right to health?
Constitution of Uganda
It is arguable that the Constitution
of Uganda does not specifically assign a section to the right to health but
through other sub-sections requires the State to take all practical measures to
ensure the provision of basic medical services to the population, promote a
good water management system at all levels and take appropriate steps to
encourage people to grow and store adequate food; establish national food
reserves and encourage and promote proper nutrition through mass education and
other appropriate means in order to build a healthy State.
The right to health
under International law
The
World Health Organisation (WHO) Constitution defines the right to health as
"the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health," and
enumerates some principles of this right as healthy child development;
equitable dissemination of medical knowledge and its benefits; and
government-provided social measures to ensure adequate health.[3]
It
is submitted that the right to health is a fundamental human right and
therefore guaranteed by international law through treaties. Uganda has ratified most of the treaties which promote the right to health under
regional and international law and is therefore obliged to
respect, protect and fulfill human rights and fundamental freedoms of
individuals or groups.
It
is observed that the human right to health is recognized in numerous
international instruments. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article
25, paragraph 1) affirms that, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health of himself and of his family, including food, clothing,
housing and medical care and necessary social services.”[4]
It is argued that the right to health as explained in the
International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Right (ICESCR) provides
the highest comprehensive standard on the right to health and is in most cases
considered as the universal minimum standard of the right to health to which
all individuals are entitled. Article 12.1 of the ICESCR provides for everyone’s
right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health'. [5]
It is observed that in August
2000, the United Nations General Comment 14 further clarified these core
obligations of the state in regard to health.[6]
It interprets the right to health "as an inclusive right extending not
only to timely and appropriate health care but also to the underlying
determinants of health, such as access to safe and potable water and adequate
sanitation, an adequate supply of safe food, nutrition and housing, healthy
occupational and environmental conditions, and access to health-related
education and information, including on sexual and reproductive health".[7]
The right to health is recognised in so many other international legal instruments such the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,[8] in article11, paragraph 1(f), and article 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,[9] the right to health is recognised in article 5, paragraph (e) (iv) of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,[10] in article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child[11] and Responsibilities of states and international organizations.
Similarly, the right to health has been proclaimed by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1989/11, as well as in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action[12] and other international instruments.
The right health is also acknowledged
in the regional legal instruments; Article 16 of the African Charter for Human
and People’s rights provides every individual the right to enjoy the best
attainable state of physical and mental health. It adds that States Parties
shall take all the necessary measures to protect the health of their
populations and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they need
it.
Conclusion
It is under rare circumstance that rich people will go to health center II and III for medical care. This is a refuge for those Ugandans who don't have medical insurance, those who cannot earn a dollar a day. Even the poor Ugandan has the right to health. Whatever happened to funds allocated for these drugs, we don't want to know, all we want is distribution of drugs.
Sources
[1]Michael Addaney, "Uganda: Why the Constitutional Court should rule on the right to health," AfricLaw
https://africlaw.com/2016/06/03/uganda-why-the-constitutional-court-should-rule-on-the-right-to-health/
[2] Constitution of Uganda 1995
http://www.ulii.org/node/23824
[3]
Constitution of the World Health Organisation (Geneva 1948) http://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf
[4] Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
[5] International Covenant of
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 12
[6]
General Comment No. 14 (2000): The
right to the highest attainable standard of health (art. 12 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Pg 128)
[7] L Reynolds, L London, D Sanders, “Right to Health Campaign in South Africa” People's Health Movement. (Health Systems Trust 2017) http://www.hst.org.za/news/right-health-campaign-south-africa
[8] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
[9] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Article11& 12) 1979
[10] International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965
[12] Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action’ (12 July 1993)
UN Doc A/CONF.157/23 art 5
