By Dennis Jjuuko

Every society, community or group, as any person may categorise it, has values, norms and traditions that they hold dear because it is what defines them either collectively or as individuals, and this is what makes them unique. These values, norms and traditions provide the ethics and morality around the way they view life and whatever it presents for us as individuals that are part of a general society. It is important to acknowledge that there are unique processes and facts that persistently present themselves, and people must ensure they consistently find sustainable solutions to them. Among these societal dilemmas is maternal health.

The 2017 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey shows that girls engage in sexual intercourse at the age of 15.4 years on average. When many of us had our first sexual encounter, we did not consult our parents, neither did we confer with any respected people in society. Sex is kept secret and confidential and so it is in rare instances that we seek counsel before engaging in intercourse.

The number of adolescent girls in Uganda who get pregnant before attaining the age of consent has risen to 25 per cent in the last seven years. For young people, this implies unintended, unplanned and therefore unwanted pregnancies, and HIV/Aids, together with other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) .

Because teenage pregnancies are unwanted, it is not by coincidence that abortion has shot high to 14 per cent – or a rate of 39 per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 49 years, slightly higher than the East African average of 34 per 1,000 women according to the induced abortion study in Uganda. A study by the Ministry of Health estimated that eight per cent of maternal deaths were due to unsafe abortion that is done clandestinely, due to the ambiguous legal framework on abortion.

In return, Uganda spends $ 14 million on post-abortion care, yet it would spend far less if the law allowed for safe abortion services.

Ugandans, let us face it. Religious and Cultural sentiments have done less to uphold high standards of maternal health in Uganda. Whoever opposes the standards and guidelines for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality due to unsafe abortion, comprehensive sexuality education, and the adolescents health policy premises their arguments on religious and cultural beliefs.

Parents should guide their children by inculcating religious and cultural values, which responsibility many have chosen to ignore. They have abandoned this obligation to schools because it is where their children spend most of the time, yet schools also think this is not the contract they signed with parents.

Schools too are characterized with stigma because sexuality is treated as a no-go area, hitherto there is a lot of information that is needed for young people to face the reality and know what to do to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STIs.

Just like many years ago, media sets traits of thought and beliefs especially for the young people who are not able to discern information unless guided. There is a lot of sexual content both in print and broadcast media that children are exposed to. The government under the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity has not been able to effectively censor material aired on TV and radios, etc.

Government has also banned comprehensive sexuality education in schools, yet it would have done much in responding to the deficit created as a result of young people failing to discern the information they are exposed to on a daily basis.
Young people like experimenting, and exposure to sexual content inspires them to try out what they see on WhatsApp, Facebook, uncensored pornographic sites, TV and print media. This keeps them sexually active since the mind always commands the body to act.

Unwanted pregnancies are thus inevitable. They result in unsafe abortion since morality, inspired by religion and cultural values, has not done enough to arrest the situation, but instead stigmatizes the victims of circumstance.

Therefore, policy and legal decisions motivated by religious and cultural values are way out of sync with maternal health realities on the ground. There is need to bank on science and research to confront the public health phenomenon of unsafe abortion that continues to claim lives of young girls and women. Preventive measures of availing adequate and relevant information about sexual and reproductive health, and attempts to prevent unwanted pregnancies will help save the situation.

Without this, we shall continue being morally ‘unique’ with approximately 860 girls and young women carrying out unsafe abortion daily. It is immoral to lose 20 young girls and women daily to preventable causes like unsafe abortion.

Mr Jjuuko is a researcher at the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/Policies-maternal-health–cultural-values/689364-3880744-joob8kz/index.html.

The Center For Health, Human Rights and Development is re-advertising the VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT below:

Title:     National Consultant on HIV and Law – Capacity Development

Duration:     90 days

Duty Station:    Kampala, Uganda with travels to Gomba and Mukono districts

ABOUT CEHURD

The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) is an indigenous, non-profit, research and advocacy organization which is pioneering the enforcement of human rights and the justiciability of the right to health in Eastern Africa. CEHURD focuses its efforts on critical issues of human rights and health systems in East Africa such as sexual and reproductive health rights, trade and health, and medical ethics which affect the vulnerable and less-advantaged populations such as women, children, orphans, sexual minorities, people living with HIV/AIDS, persons with disabilities, internally-displaced persons, refugee populations and victims of violence, torture, disasters and conflict.

BACKGROUND AND THE CONSULTANCY

CEHURD is implementing a sub-regional HIV/AIDS and adolescent girls and young women Program, with a focus on prevention of new infections. The first Phase of the Program is aimed at improving the quality of, and access to, HIV-related services for adolescent girls and young women in Uganda through the use of Legal Empowerment / Social Accountability+ (LE/SA+) strategies. Subsequent phases will be added, subject to available funding.
CEHURD seeks a National Consultant for HIV and Law, with a strong interest and passion for the Organization’s mission. Under direct supervision of the Executive Director of CEHURD, the National Consultant will perform the following duties and produce the following deliverables at the national level and in the Gomba and Mukono districts in Uganda:

• Establish and train a pool of legal and health professionals to provide regular technical support on capacity development for local Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and paralegals;
• Develop training curricula and modules on: (a) HIV services for adolescent girls and young women and (b) LE/SA+; (c) legal, gender and health frameworks to support HIV service provision and address GBV in two districts for local and national service providers;
• Participate in the training of Partner NGOs on litigating cases related to HIV service delivery for AGYW and in handling of the Legal Aid Fund.
• Deliver regular training of paralegals on: (a) HIV-related adolescent girls and young women services, including on gender-based violence (GBV) protection systems (b) LE/SA+ and (c) legal, health and gender frameworks to support HIV service provision and address GBV;
• Develop a litigators/lawyers guide/handbook.

The Consultant is expected to undertake the work from 8 May 2017 – 30 June 2018.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education and Experience

• Graduate degree in law is essential. Post-graduate degree in development, public health, gender, human rights or other related fields is a plus
• Minimum of 5 years of significant relevant professional experience in HIV/AIDS law and policy;
• Significant professional experience delivering capacity development activities, in particular on HIV/AIDS, , public health, gender, and/or human rights issues at the national and local levels.

Languages

• Fluent oral and writing skills in English is required;
• Fluent oral and writing skills in Luganda is a plus.

Specific knowledge, skills and competencies

• Experience in addressing and training legal and health professionals on legal and human rights issues facing
• HIV-related adolescent girls and young women;
• Experience in developing curricula and modules on legal, gender, human rights and health issues facing
• HIV-related adolescent girls and young women;
• Experience in developing legal and/or human rights handbooks, manuals or related guidance for litigators and lawyers;
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills;
• Enthusiastic and proactive attitude in building partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders and driving results, including at the senior level;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral;
• Ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines, flexibility and an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Ability to respond timely to queries and provide feedback;
• Self-motivated and dynamic with a willingness and ability to use initiative to assist the Organization to achieve its objectives;
• Keen sense of ethics, integrity and commitment to CEHURD’s mandate.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The National Trainer for HIV will be based in Kampala with travel to Gomba and Mukono districts. The selected candidate is expected to start immediately.

For this consultancy, the ideal candidate will be offered a rate of USD150 per day subject to taxes and in accordance with qualifications and experience.

HOW TO APPLY

All interested applicants are encouraged to apply sending resume and cover letter to info@cehurd.org specifying ‘Application to National Consultant on HIV and Law – Capacity Development’ position in the title of the email.

DISCLAIMER AND CLOSING DATE

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the Consultant assigned to this work.
CEHURD reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities or even to cancel the recruitment to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

Application deadline:  April 28, 2017 (23:59hrs Uganda time).

To learn more about CEHURD, please visit our website www.cehurd.org

PRESS RELEASE APRIL 3, 2017

UGANDA TAKES A STAND ON TOBACCO CONTROL.

The Attorney General of Uganda last week responded to the Petition by the Tobacco Industry challenging the Tobacco Control Act 2015.  The Tobacco control advocates have over years worked so hard to have the tobacco control law in Uganda. This is against the background that tobacco as a product has devastating effects on the public and the general public health of all Ugandans.

As civil society, we are in full support of the government of Uganda in regulating tobacco use in the country.  To that end the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) also filed an application to be added as an interested party to officially participate in the proceedings against the tobacco industry.

According to Ms. Elsa Zawedde a lawyer at CEHURD, “Civil society is also in support of the unwavering and exemplary determination of the Ministry of Health in promoting the Health care of the Citizens of Uganda through leading the tobacco control campaign and such efforts should not be in vain.”

CEHURD appreciates all the Tobacco Control Advocates for employing the MPOWER approach through Monitoring the tobacco epidemic and prevention policies, Protecting people from second hand smoke where they live, earn and play, Offering quit assistance to current smokers, Warning about the dangers of tobacco, Enforcing Comprehensive restrictions and Raising awareness on tobacco dangers.

Tobacco regulation is not unique to Uganda but also other countries like the United Kingdom, Brazil and others. Uganda like other countries, is a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and obliged to implement the same.

All jurisdictions and courts in the world have ruled against tobacco including the recent Kenyan ruling against British American Tobacco. The victory of our neighbors is our motivation to keep fighting for a tobacco free Uganda, because everyone has a right to a clean and healthy environment according to Kabanda David,   a lawyer at the Center for health, Human Rights and Development.

“A tobacco free Uganda, everyone’s responsibility”

A U.S policy that imposes anti-abortion restrictions against the use of global health assistance prevents U.S agencies and other U.S institutions from funding organizations that provide abortion services or related information. This policy which was initiated by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 was first invoked by the George W. Bush administration in 2001 and later by President Donald Trump in his first weeks of his administration. Since 1984, the US Republican Governments have argued that the gag rule aims at reducing cases of abortion but results of studies in this policy prove otherwise. FIND HERE THE FULL FACT SHEET of the The Global Gag Rule and its Impact on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Uganda.

The Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), Prof. Ben. K. Twinomugisha and Dr Rose Nakayi have petitioned court challenging the failure of the State of Uganda to make a law regulating termination of pregnancy as is required by the Constitution. The petitioners therefore among others calls upon the courts of Laws to declare that the failure of the Parliament to make a law regulating termination of pregnancy contravenes provisions of the Constitution of Uganda.

FIND FULL FACT SHEET ABOUT THE PETITION HERE