PRESS STATEMENT: Mulago Hospital Held Accountable for the Loss and Disappearance of Babies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday 22nd March 2021
Kampala – Uganda. Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) will today file a report at the High Court [Civil Division], regarding Mulago National Referral Hospital’s progress on improving safety in handling babies delivered at the facility.
The report documents the steps Mulago hospital has taken, which include;
- Installation of security cameras in maternity wards to monitor the movement of babies
- Placing security guards at the entrance of the Hospital to register people entering and exiting the hospital
- Tagging newborn babies to their mothers for easy identification.
- Establishing a compassion ward where mothers who have lost the babies receive counselling services
Background
On 24th January 2017, the Honourable Lady Justice Lydia Mugambe Ssali delivered a landmark judgment in High Court [Civil Division] Civil Suit No. 212 of 2013. In the suit,CEHURD, Micheal Mubangizi and Jennifer Musimenta sued the Executive Director of the Mulago National Referral Hospital and Attorney General, challenging the systemic gaps in the health care system, which resulted into the loss/ disappearance of Micheal Mubangiz and Jennifer Musimenta’s baby.
On 14th March 2012, Jennifer Musiimenta went to Mulago hospital with labour pains and delivered a set of twins on the same day. One of the babies mysteriously disappeared. The Hospital informed her and her husband that the second baby was born dead but could not produce the dead body. Eventually, on 17th March 2012, the Hospital gave the couple a dead body. The couple, however, rejected the body because it was of a baby who had just died.
Later, DNA examination confirmed that the body did not belong to their baby. The couple were aggrieved that their baby had disappeared in the hospital and they were denied information relating to their baby. The couple and CEHURD took Mulago hospital to Court for the unlawful disappearance of their baby, demanding that the hospital surrender their baby, dead or alive. In addition, they sought several declarations and orders from court.
The Court found that the failure of Mulago hospital to account for Micheal and Jennifer’s baby subjected them to psychological torture. Additionally, this was a violation of their right to be free from cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, and the right to health. These rights are recognised under Objectives XX, XIV (b) and Articles 24, 44 and 45 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and international human rights instruments.
Filing the report
In addition to these findings, the Court ordered that Mulago hospital award Michael and Jennifer compensatory damages, and CEHURD should file a report to the Court on the implementation of the Judgment. This is the report that CEHURD is filing today.
We applaud the hospital for complying with the orders of the Court after a series of engagements. We also call upon all healthcare facilities in Uganda to put in place reliable and credible systems that ensure the proper handling and movement of babies from the point a pregnant woman is admitted up to the point she is discharged from the health care facility.
We also call upon anyone who has suffered a maternal health rights violation to reach CEHURD on our toll free line 0800 300044 to pursue justice.
For more information contact: info@cehurd.org and copy in nsereko@cehurd.org or call our toll free line 0800 300044.
Teenage Pregnancies: We Are Not Doing Enough To Keep Girls In Schools
PRESS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday 26th March 2021
Kampala, Uganda. Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) recognises the government’s efforts to ensure that pregnant girls sit for final examinations. However, we assert that this is not enough, especially in light of recently revised guidelines for the prevention and management of teenage pregnancy in school settings in Uganda.
In 2020 the Ministry of Education and Sports issued these guidelines, which stated that girls must undergo mandatory periodic pregnancy tests. The guidelines add that if found pregnant, the girl is forced to go on maternity leave when she is at least three months pregnant. The guidelines allow pregnant girls to sit for final examinations. However, on 16th March, 2021, Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) through their official Twitter handle noted that pregnant girls will be allowed to sit for the exams but warned that “the leeway may not continue after Covid era”. It went on to warn that UNEB does not condone teenage pregnancy and as such, learners should concentrate on studies before they think of babies. We find the warning by UNEB that the “leeway may not continue after covid” contrary to the guidelines issued by the Ministry.
On the revised guidelines, we are concerned about the provision requiring mandatory maternity leave in case of pregnancy. Allowing girls to sit exams while denying them an opportunity to attend class effectively amounts to violation of the right to education.
Teenage pregnancies indeed have grave consequences on the girl’s life and their future including the fact that she is more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth. With an estimated 34% of school girls dropping out of school, Uganda will be raising a generation where women are locked out of education because of teenage pregnancy. We will be raising a generation where women significantly suffer long term effects such as limited skills essential for productivity and employability.
Call to Action
We ask that instead of taking action that punishes young girls, the government must take proactive measures that reduce teenage pregnancy while enabling pregnant teenagers to stay in school, prepare for and sit for their exams. We specifically ask that;
- Parliament uses its mandate to summon the Hon Minister of Education and Sports to update parliament on the progress of the National School Health Policy as it would address such issues.
- The government prioritizes management of school health programmes in times of health pandemics,
- The government promotes access to youth sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- That parliament in the exercise of its oversight mandate follows up on the implementation of the parliamentary resolutions to end teenage pregnancies of
- The relevant government line ministries give a status on the implementation of the parliamentary resolution of 2011 urging the government to institute measures to address maternal mortality and other matters considering that teenage pregnancies are one of the big contributors to maternal deaths.
- That the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development fast tracks the effective implementation of the National Strategy on Ending Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancies in Uganda of 2015.
About CEHURD
Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) is a non-profit, research and advocacy organisation pioneering the justifiability of the right to health in Uganda. Founded in 2010, CEHURD has moved from the margins to the center stage of advancing social justice and health rights in health systems including the rights of health workers in Uganda, East African Region, Pan-African and Globally.
For more information contact: info@cehurd.org or call out toll free line 0800 300044.
Reduce maternal mortality and morbidity; Adopt best practices in safe motherhood during and post COVD-19
Finalise and pass the National Health Insurance Scheme Bill into law that recognises the unique maternal functions of women by ensuring their ability to access affordable quality maternal health care services from both public and private health facilities.
Esther Dhafa, Programme Officer – Campaigns, Partnerships and Networks Programme, CEHURD
Every year, Uganda commemorates the Safe Motherhood day 17th October.The Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) joined the country to commemorate this day by calling upon the Government of Uganda to actualise the declarations in the landmark case, Constitutional petition No. 16/2011. This can happen through enhancing and promoting best practices of safe motherhood during and post COVID-19 TO reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. By doing this, we can realise the “Every Woman Every Child” Global Health Strategy Commitments (EWEC) His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda made on 15th May 2016 .
Uganda’s EWEC commitments include among others; ensuring that comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) services in hospitals increase from 70 per cent to 100 per cent and in health centers from 17 per cent to 50 per cent. It also includes ensuring that basic EmONC services are available in all health centers; ensuring that skilled providers are available in hard to reach/hard to serve areas; and reducing the unmet need for family planning from 40% to 20%; increasing focused Antenatal Care 4th visit from 42 per cent to 75 per cent, with special emphasis on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and treatment of HIV to ensure elimination.
Small steps towards safe motherhood
We do commend the government for the great efforts in reducing the high rates of maternal mortality from 438/100,000 live births in 2011 to an estimated 336/100,000 live births in 2016 (per the Uganda Demographic Health Survey 2016). However, we also note the little progress being made as a country in addressing health related issues that continue to kill women in Uganda helplessly during childbirth. As a best practice therefore, maternal health care services should be available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality in order to enhance safe motherhood.
Over the years and for this specific year, CEHURD continues to work tirelessly to ensure that women and girls are able to access affordable maternal health care services. This has been done through a number of approaches including strategic litigation, research, evidence based advocacy and collective voicing to amplify the need for better health care and service packages countrywide. With these approaches, coupled with government efforts and adoption of best safe motherhood practices, Uganda will be able to reduce maternal deaths caused due to preventable health causes. These causes include haemorrhage (blood loss), unsafe abortion, hypertension, embolism, sepsis, and other direct causes like complications of anaesthesia and caesarian sections, and postnatal depression suicide.
As we continue to commemorate Safe Motherhood, CEHURD remembers all the mothers that have died while giving birth. Unfortunately, an estimate of 6,000 women die annually in Uganda as a result of pregnancy related complications making it about 16 women dying per day (UDHS 2016). This means that today 16 women have died, tomorrow 16 will die and 16 more will die the following day which is very unacceptable. With such scary statistics therefore, Government’s obligation to promote safe motherhood becomes important, to ensure that no woman, or baby dies or is harmed by pregnancy or childbirth. This begins with the assurance of basic safety living for all expectant girls or women in our society.
Landmark judgment for maternal health
The Justices of the Supreme Court of Uganda in CEHURD, Prof Ben Twinomugisha, Rhoda Kukiriza, and Inziku Valente Vs Attorney General (Constitution Petition/\ 16/2011) finally made a nine-year long journey of collective voicing and persistence worthwhile. The justices set a precedent on maternal health care in Uganda to the joy of various civil society organisations under the Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality in Uganda (CSMMU), development partners, grassroot women and well-wishers who were have been pushing for better maternal health care. Court declared among others that the Government’s omission to adequately provide basic maternal health care services and emergency obstetric care in public health facilities violates the rights to health, life, rights of women, subjects women to inhuman and degrading treatment. The Court also stated that this is inconsistent with and in contravention of Articles 8A, 22, 33, 39 and 45 read together with objectives XIV and XX of the National Objectives and Directive Principles of state policy of the Constitution.
This suit was filed in 2011 seeking to challenge the Government’s omission to adequately provide basic maternal health services and commodities in public health facilities as contravening the right to health, rights of women, and right to life and freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. It’s premised on the wrongful deaths of the late Anguko Jennifer who died on 10th December 2010 in Arua Referral Hospital and the late Sylvia Nalubowa who died on 19th August 2010 in Mityana District hospital. Both women died during childbirth when they needed caesarian sections but failed to access the commodities and human resources required to obtain the same.
Call to action
We thus call upon the Government of Uganda to fulfill its statutory obligation by;
- Providing basic maternal health care services to women in Uganda which include among others prenatal care services, skilled medical officers in health facilities, and provision of Emergency Obstetric Care and postpartum care.
- Investing in family planning, antenatal care, safe delivery, newborn care & Post-natal care, and Emergency obstetric care which are the key pillars of Safe Motherhood.
- Prioritizing basic maternity care, primary health care and equity for all women to enable them fully enjoy and fulfil their natural maternal functions which is a fundamental human right (Art 33 of the Constitution).
- Finalise and pass the National Health Insurance Scheme Bill into law that recognises the unique maternal functions of women by ensuring their ability to access affordable quality maternal health care services from both public and private health facilities.
Lastly, informed and effective advocacy is the starting point for bringing about change. We thus call upon all stakeholders to join us in sensitizing the women including the youth and adolescents about safe motherhood and their right to receive and impart accurate sexual reproductive health information and empower them to make informed decisions to be able to keep and stay healthy since a healthy population is able to efficiently contribute to sustainable development. Safe motherhood values the girl child and implies the availability, acceptability, and easy access to health care for women’s prenatal, birth, postpartum, family planning and gynecological needs.
Let us adopt a multisectoral approach to SRHR and Safe motherhood, for better health and healthy lives.
EVERY WOMAN DESERVES TO BE AND FEEL SAFE AS A MOTHER OR MOTHER TO BE.
