The world would be better off with more women as leaders, entrepreneurs, and agents of change for development.
Ms fatia kiyange
We have made tremendous progress toward achieving women’s rights over the years. However, massive gender gaps persist. There are still increased cases of gender-based violence and women continue to provide the biggest percentage of unpaid, but essential care work.
Transformative change toward gender equality requires further investments, changes in law and policies, interventions to shift social and gender norms, and the audacity to change power relations. For example, we urgently need a witness protection law that ensures that witnesses and survivors of gender-based violence are protected.
We also need to invest in the establishment of gender-based violence shelters where survivors are able to access a full range of services including psychological support. Our public health system that serves most women is substantially under-resourced to guarantee the right to health for the most vulnerable women in our community. The world would be better off with more women as leaders, entrepreneurs, and agents of change for development.
Women and girls are still struggling to access health services and that women and girls are disproportionately affected by barriers to accessing and using health services. For example, women and girls experience structural barriers, including financial hardship, lack of transport (especially in rural areas) and lack of time because of a care burden or other unpaid labour. The existence of specialised sexual and reproductive services for women is essential in addressing the huge structural barriers that women and girls across the world experience in accessing health care. Much more must be done to communicate the importance of gender as a barrier to access health services.
Processes for achieving Universal Health Coverage are gender blind, and COVID-19 has shown that women and girls are still being left behind. Cases of Gender Based Violence, teenage and unplanned pregnancies skyrocketed during the pandemic. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 of health and wellbeing for all, it is imperative to transform health systems so they are intersectional- and gender-responsive.
The writer is the Executive Director for Center For Health Human Rights and Development.
A version of this article was published in the New Vision Newspaper page 40, on Wednesday March 8th 2023.
In 2018, there were over 484,000 cases of MultiDrug Resistant Tuberculosis recorded around the world, which contributed to 44.21% of deaths caused by tuberculosis. Women diagnosed with MDR-TB are more vulnerable to low mental and social well-being than men, it is imperative that immediate action be taken to address the difficulties experienced by female patients as well as their support networks. This can be accomplished by putting emphasis on ’patient-centered care’, and a strong Primary Health Care system that is adequately facilitated would go a long way in ensuring efficient prevention and response to MDR-TB especially among women.
– By Christopher Ogwang
Christopher Ogwang
Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a major public health hazard on a global scale. It is a kind of tuberculosis (TB) infection caused by bacteria that are resistant to treatment with at least two of the most powerful first-line anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) medications. This is caused by non-adherence to the treatment regimen or poor prescription. In 2018, there were over 484,000 cases of MDR-TB recorded around the world, which contributed to 44.21% of deaths caused by tuberculosis. Over 62% of these instances were not treated, which is more than half. Noteworthy, the treatment of MDR-TB is much more expensive than the treatment of susceptible TB. In Uganda, various health challenges impede the scale-up of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis treatment and care, treatment is either inadequate or lacking and in some cases, diagnosed patients delay on the treatment waiting list. Having one or more drug stock outs in health facilities treating susceptible TB was significantly associated with the risk of developing MDR-TB which has been noted as one of the factors contributing to poor outcomes and risk of developing drug-resistant TB, especially in rural communities.
Women diagnosed with MDR-TB are more vulnerable to low mental and social well-being than men. Married women and women of childbearing age are most vulnerable to MDR-TB’s socio-economic, and mental health consequences, such as isolation, financial difficulties, and despair. Besides the intricacies and length of treatment, psychosocial difficulties frequently aggravate MDR-TB. It is essential to broaden patients’ access to psychotherapy and other forms of mental healthcare while they are undergoing treatment for MDR-TB.
The reproductive and parental roles of women and mothers compound the difficulties they already face in coping with, remaining adherent to, and ultimately benefiting from MDR-TB treatment. In most cases, a female patient is also a wife or mother who provides essential care for other members of her family, including those who also suffer from MDR-TB. Women have the social obligation to care for their sick children and spouses, but they may be denied even the most fundamental needs when they are ill themselves.
It is imperative that immediate action be taken to address the difficulties experienced by female patients as well as their support networks. This can be accomplished by putting emphasis on the requirement for ’patient-centered care’” and enhancing the services offered at local health facilities that are closer to the patients. This would cut indirect related costs associated with treatment that female patients may not be able to afford. This is critical because most women are incapable of maintaining adherence to the treatment regimen, yet worse when it comes to women in rural areas that mainly engage in unpaid care work and have no room to create and focus on income streams.
Along the therapy continuum, we need to emphasise the significance of psychosocial stresses and social support as intermediary predictors for successful treatment results. To be able to ensure that female patients have a supportive environment to sustain adherence, families, patients and their family members should each receive the appropriate health information relevant to the condition and treatment plan in order to establish a support system that is both enabling and supportive. This is critical in sustaining adherence to treatment and care for Tuberculosis.
In addition, in order to improve the overall level of care provided, the screening for and treatment of mental health disorders should be incorporated in the national recommendations for the management of MDR-TB cases.
There is need to develop and implement a comprehensive mechanism for contact tracing of new tuberculosis cases and defaulters, implement an all-inclusive surveillance system such as the community awareness, screening, testing, prevention and treatment to combat TB. As evidenced from the work by the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) contact tracing in northern Uganda, continuous tracing and reintegration into treatment saves lives not just of those who had dropped out of treatment but also the ones in their communities. A strong Primary Health Care system that is adequately facilitated would go a long way in ensuring efficient prevention and response to MDR-TB especially among women.
The writer is a Senior Programme Officer at the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD).
CEHURD launched a national campaign to raise awareness of and advocate for safety in health-care facilities, recognizing that safety is a prerequisite for a strong health-care system.
Israel iya jeep
Post-World Patient Safety Day 2022 by Israel Iya Jeep
The world patient safety day is observed annually on 17th September with the objective of increasing public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding, and work towards global solidarity and action by member states to promote patient safety.[1] Across the world, unsafe medication practices and medication errors are a leading cause of avoidable harm in health care [l1] and this year’s theme for the World Patient Safety Day embraces this fact. The theme builds on the ongoing efforts by the World Health Organization to ensure medication without harm. The theme provides the necessary motivation to take urgent action towards reducing medication-related harm through strengthening systems and practices of medication use.[2] The world patient safety day is thus a global campaign calling on stakeholders to prioritize and take early action in key areas associated with significant patient harm that may occur due to unsafe medication practices. Furthermore, the world patient day offers great potential to raise awareness and understanding of health issues and mobilize support for action, from local communities to the international stage to further the fundamental principle of medicine “do no harm”.[3]
CEHURD with support from the Joint Advocacy for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (JAS) Programme in commemoration of world patient safety day, kick-started a national campaign to amplify and advocate for safety in health facilities, recognizing that safety is a prerequisite for a strong health system. CEHURD is contributing – towards ensuring safety issues in health facilities are addressed and to this end, CEHURD has challenged the actions and inactions of hospitals that put patients safety at stake for instance, it challenged Mulago hospital on new born care and management, challenged the actions and omissions of the government of Uganda for failure to provide minimum maternal health services in petition 16 – What the constitutional court decision on access to basic maternal healthcare means, CEHURD with the Uganda Medical Association advocated for Prioritization of safety of health workers to protect patients during covid-19-and-beyond, an increase of salaries for health workers, documented facts on the state of health facilities and amplified the voice to renovate, build and ensure adequate health infrastructure. All these efforts are aimed at ensuring that patients’ safety is guaranteed and no patient suffers injury or dies because of unsafe and poor health care.
In addition to the above, the supreme court opened gates for public interest litigation especially in the area of health rights and patient safety when Justice lady Esther Kisaakye held that it’s not a requirement under the constitution for a petitioner who seeks redress to show that they suffered a personal legal grievance. CEHURD has leveraged on this order to bring legal action to advance health rights and cause structural reforms in the health sector as demonstrated in civil case No. 212 of 2013 in the High Court of Uganda between Center for health, human rights and development and others v Executive Director Mulago Hospital and others. In this case, court issued orders in form of structural interdicts in the health sector for instance orders requiring that Mulago hospital as a mandatory obligation takes steps to ensure and or enhance the respect, movement and safety of babies, dead or alive in hospitals and orders relating to the Executive Director of Mulago hospital to submit as a mandatory duty a written report every after 4 months regarding the steps taken to enhance the respect, movement and safety of babies to CEHURD.
CEHURD has conducted policy and legal framework mapping aimed at identifying laws, bills, policies, strategies and guidelines affecting self-care to identify opportunities and gaps that inform advocacy for institutionalization of self-care in Uganda. [l3]
CEHURD has also conducted research and facilitated investigations on the state of health facilities in Uganda for example the “No safety guarantees in moribund health system | PANORAMA” documentary which identified issues relating to poor quality health care, health expert shortage, unskilled man power, inadequate documentation of statistics relating to patient safety, inadequate man power, lack of infrastructure, ageing infrastructure among others. All these efforts have culminated into structural reforms in the health sector such as provision of safety gears to health workers, mitigating health expert shortage, building homes for cancer patients at the Mulago cancer institute, renovation of Busolwe Hospital, and influencing budgetary innovations in the health sector.
CEHURD has condemned detention of persons with mental illnesses and patients in health facilities, emphasising that Hospitals are not gazetted detention facilities according to the law of Uganda, and that there are special places where we have to detain people “No health facility is allowed to detain patients for any reason despite the business background. If people owe you, hand them to institutions who have that mandate.” ~ Dr Katumba | Uganda Medical & Dental practitioners’ Council.
We talk about these successes, achievements, progress to inform, influence, and inspire movements, the government, and all stakeholders to join the campaign aimed at causing positive structural changes in our heath sector and ensuring patient safety because a flourishing health sector is key in achieving our national goals. We call everyone to engage in advocacy efforts with key stakeholders including developing national campaigns, organizing policy forums, advocacy and technical events, capacity-building initiatives, lighting up iconic monuments with the goal of pursuing the objectives of the world patient safety day and the year’s theme of raising global awareness on the high burden of medication-related harm due to medication error and unsafe practices. We must not tire to advocate for urgent action to improve medication safety through engaging with health workers and other partners in the health sector in the efforts to prevent medication errors and reduce medical-related harm. We must empower patients and families to be actively involved in the safe use of medication, and scaling up implementation of the global patients’ safety challenge which is medication without harm.
In conclusion therefore, we all have a role to play in ensuring patient safety and the call for all persons to fully embrace and actively take part in activities aimed at promoting awareness and mobilize support for safety in health facilities at large.
The writer is an intern at the Center for Health, Human rights and Development.
[1] World patient safety day 2022 accessible at https://www.who.int/news-room/events/details/2022/09/17/default-calendar/world-patient-safety-day-2022
Moses Mulumba from Uganda threatens the German federal government with a lawsuit if it does not advocate the suspension of the coronavirus patents. medico and ECCHR support him.
With vaccine shortages, millions of people are currently exposed to permanent, preventable health threats. In Uganda, for example, only just under 10 percent of the population are vaccinated, not even 2 per cent of them completely. This shortage could be overcome if vaccine patents were released and production capacities increased more quickly due to their free availability.
This is what the Ugandan human rights activist Moses Mulumba says and has therefore called on the German government to support the demand for the patents to be released – and otherwise threatened with legal action . So far, the federal government has blocked the application to suspend patents from the World Trade Organization. This is possibly unconstitutional and contrary to international law.
Moses Mulumba, Executive Director of Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD). COURTESY PHOTO
With a so-called letter of claim, Moses Mulumba, who heads a health and human rights organization in Uganda, calls on the federal government to approve the release of the patents on COVID vaccines and drugs in the upcoming WTO negotiations. If the federal government does not comply with Moses Mulumba’s request, it will face legal proceedings, because “According to international human rights treaties and the UN Charter, Germany is obliged to cooperate internationally as best as possible and to take the most effective, joint measures to combat a global pandemic participate. If Germany continues to fail to vote for a derogation from the TRIPS agreement at the World Trade Organization, The federal government must live up to Moses’ claims and thus its human rights obligations. Intellectual property rights must not take precedence over the human right to health and life, ”says Miriam Saage-Maaß from ECCHR.
“The corona management of the federal government still in office is often and rightly under criticism. However, it is often forgotten that German government action does not only have national consequences. The federal government has been in charge of blocking the TRIPS waiver for months. And to be clear: It is blocking the central instrument for faster and more cost-effective global production of corona vaccines, which costs human lives and destroys livelihoods, ”says Anne Jung from medico international.
The letter from Moses’ lawyer was served on the Chancellor, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Economic Affairs.
The aid and human rights organization medico international and the ECCHR (European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights) support Mulumba Moses legally and financially in his approach, which is part of an internationally coordinated action.
This article was first published on www.medico.de on November 25th, 2021.
US drug giant Pfizer said Friday it will appeal against an Indian ruling overturning a patent for a cancer drug, saying the decision raises questions about intellectual property protection in India.
Indian generics heavyweight Cipla opposed the granting of the domestic patent for Prizer’s Sutent, which is used to combat liver and kidney cancer.
The patent office’s decision went to the heart of India’s patent act, which says a patent cannot be granted for a drug unless changes make it significantly more effective and innovative.
“The patentee (Pfizer) has miserably failed to demonstrate any improved activity” warranting a patent, the patent office said in its decision.
“The invention that is claimed in the patent does not involve any inventive step… and hence (is) not patentable,” Nilanjana Mukherjee, senior patent officer, said.
A spokesman for Cipla, which revolutionized AIDS treatment by supplying cut-price drugs to the world’s poor and which has been campaigning to be able offer other low-cost generic medicines, had no immediate comment.
But Pfizer managing director Jazz Tobaccowalla said the company believes the ruling “undermines intellectual property rights in India”.
“We will vigorously defend our basic Sutent patent,” the Pfizer executive said in a statement, adding the company would appeal against the ruling to India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
The patent decision marked another win by Cipla against a global pharmaceutical company.
In September, a court threw out a patent infringement case launched against Cipla by Swiss drug maker F. Hoffmann-La Roche over the Mumbai firm’s version of a lung-cancer drug, ruling it had a different molecular makeup.
The cases have been watched worldwide as they involve interpretation of stricter drug patent protection rules introduced by India in 2005 to comply with World Trade Organization regulations.
India has some of the toughest criteria for drug companies to obtain patents, said D.G. Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, an industry body.
“These rulings show (foreign) companies need to take into account that India will not permit tweaking of formulations for getting a patent. If they had those expectations, they were unrealistic,” Shah told AFP.
Medical charities have expressed concern compliance with WTO rules could reduce the country’s role as a supplier of low-cost medicines. India is the world’s leading exporter and manufacturer of non-branded medicines.
But Western firms — looking to countries such as India for sales growth — have voiced criticism of brand protection in India.
Earlier this year, an Indian ruling allowed a local firm to produce a vastly cheaper copy of German pharmaceutical giant Bayer’s patented drug Nexavar for liver and kidney cancer.
India’s patents chief ruled the price Bayer charged was “exorbitant” and told the firm to give a “compulsory license” — permitted under WTO rules for public health reasons — to Indian firm Natco Pharma to make a less costly version.
Experts say that ruling could pave the way for a rush of other “compulsory license” applications in India and other poor nations, allowing access to patented life-saving drugs at a fraction of the cost.
