The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) has today the 8th April 2018 joined other Civil Society Organisations working with People with Disabilities as well as the Uganda Medical Association to condemn a Judgment by the High Court of Uganda which declared the practice of torturing mental health patients for hours in Secluded rooms at Butabika National referral hospital a legal practice.
The Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) www.cehurd.org is looking for a Country Programme Coordinator who will be contracted for a period of two (2) years beginning on 1st May, 2018 and will be stationed at CEHURD offices located at Plot 4008, Justice Road, Canaan Sites, Gayaza – Nakwero.
CEHURD with financial and technical support from the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) http://www.arasa.info/, will be implementing the HIV, TB and Human Rights Training and Advocacy Programme for two (2) years, April 2018 – March 2020. The overall objective of the programme is to support the strengthening of a human rights based response to HIV and TB in an effort to ensure the creation of an enabling environment where HIV/TB related stigma and discrimination is eradicated and people living with and at higher risk of HIV have access to affordable quality health care services.
PLEASE follow this link for the Job Description and how to apply.
By Avako Specioza
The tobacco industry has for a long time affected innocent lives world over through several ways including; advertising and encouraging direct smoking of cigarettes, secondhand smoke exposure, smoking of other combustible tobacco products , smokeless tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) among others. Cigarettes were manufactured as far back as the 17th century in America and in Uganda, British American tobacco introduced tobacco growing in the 1920s. During this time the industry grew and became a force to be reckoned with. Tobacco came to be known as one of Uganda’s leading cash crops and the industry recruited many people to cigarette smoking which has to date had exponential adverse effects on public health of the nation.
The scope of the burden of disease and death that tobacco smoking imposes on the public’s health is extensive. Tobacco smoking has serious ramifications on public health as it is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Tobacco smoking kills more people annually than AIDS, Malaria and tuberculosis combined. Tobacco has passed the test of being the most toxic legal product which kills its users when used according to prescription. The World Health Organization has stated that tobacco kills up to half of its users because it contains more than 7000 chemicals, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful and at least 69 are known to cause cancer.
The WHO report on Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008, confirms that the global tobacco epidemic is one of the greatest public health threats of modern times as smoking causes so many deleterious health effects. Some of these health effects include; diminished health status, susceptibility to acute illnesses and respiratory symptoms, death, coronary heart disease, cancers of any organ of the body, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, pre-mature births, among others.
The tobacco companies use a business model that is focused on maintaining or increasing new users of their products, even if this means targeting adolescents. This is achieved by marketing products that promote adolescents perception that increase the probability of experimentation and continued use. Over the years, the tobacco industry has created distinct lifestyle images associated with different brands, and their marketing strategies include package design, product placement, advertising, promotional activities and pricing.
Uganda has taken a great leap in tobacco control interventions through ratification of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and consequently the enactment of the Tobacco Control Act of 2016. This Act provides for control interventions including; large pictorial health warning of not less than 65%, restrictions of the tobacco industry’s advertisement of its products, smoke free policies in public places, 50 meters smoke free space from residential or business areas, restrictions on tax incentives given to the tobacco industry, restricting minors from purchasing tobacco products among others.
With all its insidious acts and plans, the tobacco industry strives to maintain customers, encourage those that have quit resuming smoking and recruiting others especially the youth. This therefore makes the implementation of the tobacco law more apparent than before. Furthermore this calls for concerted efforts of the government departments, civil society, the police and all members of the public to ensure implementation of the tobacco law, a smoke free environment and support to patients who are addicted to quit smoking. Effort should therefore be directed to ensure that commercial interests of the tobacco industry do not override public health.
By Denis Jjuuko
Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) continue to be among the most controversial and contentious topics in Uganda’s cultural, religious and policy environment. This is because of the competing approaches in the policy debates that range from religious and cultural perspectives, to legal approaches. However, a combination of factors such as: limited access to a wide range of family planning services by those in need; access to sexuality education has led to an increasing number of unwanted pregnancies, among teenagers for instance, which stands at 25%. A significant number of these end in induced abortion, posing a serious public health, human rights and social equity dilemma that affects millions of women in sub – Saharan Africa, including Uganda, albeit the ambiguous regulations on abortion.
Uganda’s dwindling maternal health record is partly evident in her highest rates of unsafe abortion in Eastern Africa. The estimated rate of 54 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age is far higher than the average of 39 abortions per 1,000 women for East Africa. Unsafe abortion is among the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in Uganda, contributing approximately 26% of the estimated 6,000 maternal deaths every year, and an estimated 40% of admissions for emergency obstetric care. It equally places a huge cost on the public health system; approximately Ushs 7.5 billion (US$13.9million) are spent annually to treat complications. Poor, rural women are at increased risk of unsafe abortion, 68–75% experienced complications, compared with the 17% complication rate for non-poor urban women.
The country’s restrictive abortion laws permit termination of pregnancies only to save the life of a pregnant woman. However, conflicting and restrictive interpretations of the abortion provisions under the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, the Penal Code Act of 1950 and National Reproductive Health Policies have created confusion about the correct legal status of terminating pregnancies. Because the government has not operationalized Article 22(2) of the 1995 constitution of Uganda as a way of clarifying the parameters for legal abortions, healthcare providers are unable to provide safe and legal services, while law enforcement officials and judicial officers do not effectively enforce or implement laws that permit abortion, thus denying women and girls access to safe and legal services. Inadequate regulations have also led quark doctors to freely advertise abortion services without clarity on their degree or level of safety. This environment further risks the lives of young girls and women, due to the complications that arise, thereby making unsafe abortion a public health dilemma. However, this can be averted by creating a progressive SRHR legal and policy environment as a central tenet to preventing and reducing the unacceptably high rates of maternal death in Africa.
It was upon this background that CEHURD convened a socio-cultural dialogue on 6th and 7th March 2018 at Hotel Africana to discuss SRHR in Uganda and find sustainable strategies for addressing the deficit created by a regressive SRHR environment as a critical element for good health and wellbeing of people, quality education that encompasses access to information for living healthy lives, and promoting gender equality.
The dialogue involved examining the status of the SRHR environment in Uganda; tracking progress of achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4; discussing strategies of harnessing the population dividend for holistic development within a progressive SRHR environment; and defining roles, responsibilities and accountability mechanisms of key sectors for a progressive SRHR environment.
The dialogue targeted policy makers, technical people in the different line ministries, civil society organisations, religious and cultural leaders, law enforcement institutions, service providers and academics alike. The dialogue involved use of videos, panel discussions, and questions and answers questions, and participants agreed to a need to reduce on teenage pregnancies as a way of solving the unsafe abortions equation. They also agreed to a need for clear regulations and implored different SRHR stakeholders contribute to a progressive SRHR environment.
By Ms. Nakibuuka Noor Musisi
Today CEHURD was pleased to work with but also host officials from Ministry of Health and WHO country office to deliberate on the finalization and road map of the gender and human rights mainstreaming manual for health professionals.
This manual stems from the fact that the Uganda Gender Policy 2007 calls upon all sectors to mainstream gender in their respective sector plans and interventions. As a way of trying o implement this policy, the Ministry of Health and Who country office together with development partners came together to develop this manual aimed at building the capacity of health sector staff to mainstream gender and human rights into health service delivery. In addition, the manual is also responsive o the Country’s Public Finance Management Act, 2015, which reinforces the need for health workers to be more responsive to gender and human rights.
It’s also not in contention that there is a knowledge and practice gap between duty bearers and rights-holders in health service delivery that leads to limited service delivery and the violation of human rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Worse still there has been limited attention given to gender issues in the health sector which has led to iniquities in accessing health services and interventions that are not gender-responsive. This manual therefore is designed to empower the duty-bearers and rights-holders with knowledge and skills to appreciate the importance of mainstreaming human rights and gender in health.
One would think that partners have no stake in this process but the reverse is true. Over the years, I have come to believe that bringing technical expertise from various areas to one room makes more sense than having individual organizations work on specific processes. Of course, we are development partners in the health sector and hence our intervention and input into policies and processes is fundamental. Working with the Ministry, WHO and other civil society organizations has proved to me that partnerships are critical in moving processes. As we speak, the Gender and human rights manual has rather taken progressive steps, been approved by the Senior Management team within the Ministry of Health, as well as the Health Policy Advisory Committee and will be up for discussion at the Top management level.
It’s not surprising that even at this level, partners have come together to discuss the road map. With a question, what next after top management approves? This is where synergizing becomes key. We have planned and agreed on a road map that will ensure that at various levels (both national and district), the manual is not only shared, but health service providers and District officials,, policy makers among other are sensitized on how best to use this manual for impact. It’s anticipated that these are key in not just providing services but also coming up with human right and gender responsive policies, by laws and Ordinances among others.
