The 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP 17) that concluded in December 2011, in Durban, South Africa produced the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action that commits governments to developing a protocol, legal instrument, or an agreed outcome to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with legal force applicable to all countries by no later than 2015. Foreign ministers and environmental ministers set and drove the conference agenda, and economic considerations underpinned all discussions. Despite climate change posing grave risks to human health, the human health perspective on climate change was relegated to side-event, although it led to a parallel inaugural Global Climate and Health Summit, and the Durban Declaration on Climate and Health and Health Sector Call to Action. The report argues that the marginalisation of human health considerations at UN Fframework Convention on Climate Change conferences is untenable and that human health must be a core, not peripheral, focus at future meetings. The report states that the health community, led by health ministers, must play a central role in climate change deliberations and that health ethics principles must be afforded equal status to economics principles in climate change deliberations.
Values, Policies and Rights
Health inequalities represent perhaps the most consequential global health challenge and yet they persist despite increased funding and innovative programmes. The United Nations is revising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that will shape the world for many years to come. What would a transformative post-MDG framework for global health justice look like? A global coalition of civil society and academics - the Joint Action and Learning Initiative on National and Global Responsibilities for Health (JALI) - has formed an international campaign to advocate for a Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH). Recently endorsed by the UN Secretary-General, the FCGH would reimagine global governance for health, offering a new post-MDG vision. This Special Communication describes the key modalities of an FCGH to illustrate how it would improve health and reduce inequalities. The modalities would include defining national responsibilities for the population’s health; defining international responsibilities for reliable, sustainable funding; setting global health priorities; coordinating fragmented activities; reshaping global governance for health; and providing strong global health leadership through the World Health Organisation.
An survey reported by the Zimbabwean on the Constitution found that 40% of those interviewed were in favour of the Constitution preserving full rights for women to have an abortion, while fewer(39%) believed it should be preserved only in certain instances which must be clearly stated by law. Only 19% were completely opposed to the Constitution preserving any rights for a woman to have an abortion. More men than women were in favour of full rights for women to seek an abortion. The government, which says it is aware of the practice of illegal abortions, promotes safe sex as a solution, but a spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare admitted this was a huge challenge due to the unavailability of – and cultural resistance to – contraceptives. A largely Christian society, abortion in Zimbabwe is condemned by both the church and the state. Women who do choose the abortion route say that although a safe, legal abortion is exorbitant – around US$350 – it’s still a lot cheaper than the cost of giving birth to a child in a city hospital. Pregnant women who cannot afford the legal option are reported to resort to taking herbal remedies from traditional healers.
This article poses questions about what will be achieved at Rio+20. The author argues that all global environmental problems—from climate change to hazardous waste—have separate agreements. International rules of engagement and cooperation are being discussed in parallel processes and institutions. Rio+20 has raised the green economy rather than 1992’s concept of sustainable development, but without clarifying what this is. Does it mean the world will invest in technologies to green the current economy? Or will it seriously reinvent growth so that it is not driven by cheap consumption that is costing us the earth?
In this press statement, human rights organisation Release Political Prisoners (RPP) Trust registers its support for the position taken by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to promote the rights of lesbians, gays, bi-sexual and transgender people as well as commercial sex workers. RPP notes that the constitution protects all Kenyans against any form of discrimination and that the bill of rights guarantees all persons, non-heterosexuals included, all rights and entitlements under that Chapter, including the right to health and education. Statistics indicate that up to 15% of new HIV infections in Kenya are attributable to gay men and 6 out every 10 gay men are in heterosexual relationships. Yet discrimination hampers access to health services for these marginalised groups. Even when they get infected, they rarely have access to treatment and are reportedly often discriminated against by health workers. RPP notes several incidences in the recent past where gay men and women have been threatened and attacked at health facilities while seeking treatment for HIV. It argues that these attacks can be directly attributed to the preaching of hatred against gays and lesbians by religious leaders, and calls on the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to consider investigating these religious groups for hate speech and for promoting discrimination against non-heterosexuals and commercial sex workers.
The Ugandan government has launched an HIV and AIDS workplace policy in a bid to promote freedom from stigma and non-discrimination for all employees, according to this article. The policy, spearheaded by the Ministry of East African Affairs, will address discrimination against employees living with HIV or AIDS, ensure that they are provided with antiretrovirals, promote gender equity and equality, help with management of HIV-positive employees to enable them achieve their potential, as well as guaranteeing them total confidentiality. The policy acknowledges that HIV and AIDS have continued to impact negatively on the country’s economy, through the loss of skilled labour, absenteeism from work due to stigma and increased healthcare expenditure. The policy covers all employees except the police and army, which do not recruit people living with HIV, even if they meet all other requirements.
President Joyce Banda has announced her intention to repeal Malawi's laws gainst homosexual acts, going against a trend in Africa in which gays, lesbians and transgendered people are being increasingly singled out for prosecution. President Banda, who assumed the presidency in April 2012 when her predecessor died, made the announcement in her first state of the nation address, vowing to repeal indecency and unnatural acts laws. Repealing the law requires a parliamentary vote. The authors caution that it is unclear how much political support Banda would have for these changes. In South Africa, the only African country with laws protecting gay rights, HIV and AIDS activist Mark Heywood said Banda would have international support.
South Africa’s Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill, which is hoped to pave the way for the protection of the country’s traditional medicinal knowledge, has finally been passed by Parliament and is awaiting the approval of President Jacob Zuma. The bill aims to: improve the livelihoods of indigenous knowledge holders and communities, benefit the national economy, prevent bio-piracy, provide a legal framework for protection and empower local communities and prevent exploitation of indigenous knowledge. Indigenous peoples in South Africa and the rest of the world have put forward the argument that knowledge of the use of certain plants, for example, has been developed over several generations, and ask why only the present generation should benefit. They also question why some governments or corporates are reaping the rewards of indigenous knowledge through patented products when the knowledge was born from the communities of indigenous peoples. The difficulty in answering these questions, according to law experts, is that indigenous knowledge systems do not have a clearly devised timeline to the origin or source of the knowledge. It still proves very difficult for proponents of indigenous intellectual property to trump corporates wanting to capitalise on indigenous knowledge systems, more especially within a western legal framework. Meanwhile, the main critique of the new Bill is that it incorporates traditional knowledge into existing law, rather than being governed by its own separate act, which was the main objection raised during public hearings on the bill.
The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health considers in this report occupational health as an integral component of the right to health. The report outlines international human rights and other instruments related to occupational health, and it addresses occupational health in the informal economy, focusing on the needs of vulnerable and marginalized groups. It also addresses the obligation of States to formulate, implement, monitor and evaluate occupational health laws and policies, as well as the requirement for the participation of workers at all stages of those activities. The discussion of State obligations is followed by the analysis of such occupational health issues as environmental and industrial hygiene; prevention and reduction of the working population's exposure to harmful substances; challenges posed by emerging technologies; minimization of hazards in the workplace; and availability and accessibility of occupational health services. The Special Rapporteur then elaborates on the prospective and retrospective components of accountability, as well as remedies for violations related to occupational health. The Special Rapporteur concludes his report with a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening occupational health, as a component of the right to health.
To commemorate World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2012, the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) announced plans to increase public awareness of the tobacco industry’s aggressive marketing tactics in South Africa. Over 44,000 people are estimated to die each year from tobacco-related diseases in the country, despite advertising restriction requirements in legislation. CANSA notes that tobacco companies are targeting women and young people to become smokers, as they represent a relatively untapped market for these companies. In the past, cigarettes were made freely available and promoted at exclusive parties and evidence has come to light of specific brands promoting cigarettes in a supermarket, as well as at a restaurant, as recently as November 2011, with beautiful women used to promote and distribute free cigarettes. CANSA notes that the Tobacco Control Act restricts tobacco advertising, including ‘viral’ marketing via social media like Facebook and Twitter, which is a favoured approach to target young people. The organisation highlights the need for this law to be leveraged to stop tobacco companies from marketing their harmful products to the public.