By Lipi Mishra and Serunjogi Francis

Today the High court of Uganda began proceedings on the maternal health case filed by the Centre for Health Human Rights and Development &  Others against Nakaseke District Local Government (Civil suit No.111 of 2012).

The first day of proceedings was widely attended to by members of the public, the Coalition to Stop Maternal Mortality in Uganda, and the media.

Actions for this case were filed on April 12th 2012 by CEHURD after Nanteza Irene died In Nakaseke Hospital while in labour. The plaintiffs assert that Nanteza Irene was not given medical attention for almost 10 hours.

This case triggers a number of Constitutional issues, all of which are being used to claim that the events leading  Nanteza Irene’s death violated her (and her children’s’) rights to life, health, freedom from inhumane and degrading treatment, and equality.

The case was presided over by His Lordship Justice Benjamin Kabiito and two witnesses from the plaintiff’s side were interviewed. Nanteza Irene’s three surviving children were also in attendance.

CEHURD is actively involved in a number of other activities as it awaits the judgment in this case including advocating for a better health budget for financial year 2013/14 and ensuring that health workers are recruited, motivated and remunerated.

The trial has been adjourned until 31st May 2013 and it will proceed with testimonies from the remaining witnesses.

By Felix Warom Okello & Clement Aluma

An expectant mother lost her child at the weekend after she was transported on a lorry carrying goats and goods following the alleged refusal of Olujobo Health Centre III workers to grant her an ambulance. Ms Florence Candiru, who had been admitted to Olujobo Health Centre III, was reportedly referred to Arua Regional Referral Hospital by health workers at the facility.

However, when she sought the services of the health centre’s ambulance, she was allegedly told that the ambulance would be transporting health workers for training at Rhino Camp Sub-county.

Her relatives were forced to hire a lorry that was passing-by the health centre to take her to Arua Regional Referral Hospital. Speaking to the Daily Monitor at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, Ms Candiru, 35, said: “After we were told that there is no ambulance, I saw death coming either to me or my child. But unfortunately the child died. All I wanted was to reach the hospital and deliver,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Her brother, Mr Francis Korubuga, who was by her side, said: “As the pain continued at Olujobo Health Centre III, the relatives went by the roadside to look for any vehicle passing by. We then landed on a truck that carried goats, charcoal, firewood and sacks of cassava.

Then we had to pay Shs130,000 to hire the truck to carry her to Arua Regional Referral Hospital.” When contacted for comment, the District Health Officer, Dr Patrick Anguzu, said he would investigate the matter and those found culpable would be prosecuted. “Our priority is first to save lives of patients,” Dr Anguzu said. However, efforts to speak to the officer in-charge of Olujobo Health Centre III, Mr Rophin Anguzu, were futile as he could not be reached on phone by press time.

The health sector in Uganda is facing a host of problems such as under funding, shortage of drugs, health workers, ambulances and equipment.

Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Pregnant-woman-loses-baby-after-being-/-/688334/1853740/-/a5n7u0/-/index.html

Written by Serunjogi Francis

The minister of Justice Hon Kahinda Otafiire has today April 22, 2013 told journalists that the government will embrace flexibilities in Intellectual Property laws if raised in Parliament to help in consumer protection.  The minister who emphasized that consumers are supposed to pay authors of books and creators of medicines also said that if relevant gaps in Intellectual Property laws in Uganda are raised by Members of Parliament, government will not hesitate in embracing them.

This was during a media briefing organized by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala. The media briefing was aimed at informing media practitioners about a two day High level National Intellectual Property Policy Forum that will take place between 23rd and 24th of April 2013 at Hotel Africana.

According to the media brief issued at the Uganda Media Center, the purpose of the forum is to set measures for a coordinated strategy among policy makers, governments, officials, representatives from industry, research and development institutions, universities, civil societies and private sector with an aim of encouraging and facilitating effective creation, protection and management of intellectual property with in the national development framework.

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, which include inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs used in trade. IP rights are, therefore, the entitlements given to owners of IP, in form of patents, copyrights and others.

However, much as these rights give the creator or inventor the legal right to prevent others from benefiting from their idea except with their permission, the human rights principles and mechanisms require that Intellectual Property rules do not stifle access to essential goods for the welfare of society, particularly in least developing countries (LDCs) with relatively lower levels of innovation.

LDCs such as Uganda, are struggling to conform to new global standards of Intellectual Property protection as prescribed by the multilateral Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).

The World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreements are minimum standards which allow countries to provide reasonable protection of intellectual property with an aim of promoting access to essential commodities.

Incorporating these in Intellectual Property laws of a country help in consumer protection thus access to essential commodities.

CEHURD

By Serunjogi Francis and Guma Jeremiah

Yesterday April 11, 2013, the High court of Uganda started hearing a maternal health case filed by the Center for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) & others against Nakaseke District Local Government and the Attorney General.

On 12th April 2012 the Center for health, Human rights and Development (CEHURD) dragged Nakaseke District Local government to court challenging the way Nanteza Irene died in labour pain despite crying for almost 10 hours without any medical attention accorded to her.

This case follows a landmark maternal health case that was filed by CEHURD in the Constitutional court of Uganda in March 2011 (Constitutional Petition No.16 of 2011). The justices in that case advised the petitioners to seek other remedies in other courts of law.

By the time of this ruling (June 2012) CEHURD had already filed this case and had never been fixed for hearing. It is on record that 16 women die in Uganda daily and the more cases are delayed in courts the more women that die.

CEHURD is thus calling upon the High court to give a declaratory judgment that the acts, omissions and behaviors of the health workers and the local government towards  Nanteza Irene (deceased) leading to her death violated her rights to life, to health, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment and equality and that of her children.

“It’s the justices of the court that can end the preventable maternal deaths by according justice where it’s due. We cannot continue to see the injustices of women dying from preventable maternal deaths. We call upon the government to recruit, allocate and motivate health workers as well as supply necessary basic maternal health commodities in the health facilities as part of their Human rights obligations” Said Mulumba Moses, Executive Director of CEHURD.

The leading causes of maternal death in Uganda include massive shortage of trained, motivated and equitably deployed professional health workers to attend to births, lack of access to emergency obstetric care, lack of access to quality antenatal care, and lack of access to family planning services, hemorrhage, sepsis and above all lack of a political will to priotize the right to health..

Court will next hear the case on 17th May 2013 as counsel for the plaintiffs sought an adjournment to file a joint scheduling memorandum since the defendants had not signed the one that was prepared and hence wasn’t filed in court on time. His Lordship Justice

Benjamin Kabiito the judge handling the matter advised the parties to do a scheduling and file the same in court by 30th April 2013 such that on 17th May they come ready to proceed as he will not entertain unnecessary adjournments.

For more information, contact: Noor Nakibuuka, CEHURD, +256782496681