The Constitutional Court in Kampala, Uganda, started a case against the Government of Uganda on preventable maternal deaths and the right to health.
The case, Petition Number 16 of 2011, argues that by not providing essential medical commodities and health services to pregnant women, the government is violating the constitutional rights of Ugandans, including the right to health, the right to life, and the rights of women.
The petition highlights the case of two women who died in childbirth; their families were also present at the hearing. Many reports of additional maternal deaths from across Uganda have come to light since the case was filed on 3 March 2011.
The court case was started by a group of activists representing health, HIV/AIDS, human rights, and womenʼs organisations in Uganda. According to the activists, cases of preventable maternal death such as of the two women are commonplace in Uganda.
One of the complainers, Hilda Kironde of Uganda Community Based Association for Child Welfare (UCOBAC) said: “With sufficient funding and leadership, these deaths would stop. We are hopeful that the Constitutional Court will understand the unacceptable plight that expectant mothers face in Uganda.”
The activists call for a 2011/2012 supplementary budget that increases investments in the life-saving emergency care, health workers, commodities and services that could end Ugandaʼs crisis of preventable maternal death.
Source: www.ifhhro.org
Mentorship in media reporting on intellectual property & human rights
The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) is currently implimenting a 12 month project funded by KIOS on intellectual property and human rights. The program seeks to build the capacity of journalists from the mainstream media with interest in reporting on the ongoing reforms in intellectual property laws in Uganda and elsewhere.
Intellectual Property and Human Rights – Uganda
The IP and commercial law reform process is both an opportunity and challenge; an opportunity to promote technological progress while also protecting human rights, but also a challenge because of an unhealthy combination of lack of sufficient knowledge at the population level and a weak negotiating position vis-à-vis other countries and negotiating blocs.
The current laws and draft laws are not even taking advantage of the limited opportunities available through the TRIPS flexibilities, and a lot is at stake, including public health, food security and education. How well media influences the ongoing reform process will depend, among other things to their own capacity to understand, interpret and inform their audiences about all important developments in the IP and commercial law reform process.
Download Full Report here: Intellectual Property Rights and Human Rights
CEHURD files constitutional petition NO. 16 of 2011
CEHURD was able to file the constitutional petition which seeks to secure among others a Declaration that non provision of essential maternal health commodities in a government health faculties leading to the death of these persons is an infringement on the rights to life and health. The court is set to hear the petition on 20th July 2011