Almost two decades after adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the record of adherence to its provisions across the continent is mixed. Some countries have made notable progress, but others show persistent serious violations of human rights. African performance on human rights as spelled out in the Charter varies from one country to another. The author elaborates the situation in different countries on the continent against the rights set out in the Charter. The author concludes that Africa has a long way to go in the practice and upholding of human rights at out in the Charter. He urges that governments be made accountable to ensure that human rights are upheld.
Values, Policies and Rights
African performance on human rights
Anambo Ongoche E: Pambuzuka News 730, 10 June 2015
The health-systems response to violence against women
García-Moreno C; Hegarty K; d’Oliveira A; Koziol-McLain J; Colombini M; Feder G: The Lancet 385(9977), 1567-1579, 2015
Health systems have a crucial role in a multisector response to violence against women. Some countries have guidelines or protocols articulating this role and health-care workers are trained in some settings, but generally system development and implementation have been slow to progress. Substantial system and behavioural barriers exist, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. Violence against women was identified as a health priority in 2013 guidelines published by WHO and the 67th World Health Assembly resolution on strengthening the role of the health system in addressing violence, particularly against women and girls. In this Series paper, we review the evidence for clinical interventions and discuss components of a comprehensive health-system approach that helps health-care providers to identify and support women subjected to intimate partner or sexual violence. Five country case studies show the diversity of contexts and pathways for development of a health system response to violence against women. Although additional research is needed, strengthening of health systems can enable providers to address violence against women, including protocols, capacity building, effective coordination between agencies, and referral networks.
Tracing shadows: How gendered power relations shape the impacts of maternal death on living children in sub Saharan Africa
Yamin A; Bazile J; Knight L; Molla M; Maistrellis E; Leaning J: Social Science and Medicine 135, 143-150, 2015
A mixed-methods study was conducted in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa to investigate the impacts of maternal death on families and children. The analysis identified gender as a fundamental driver not only of maternal, but also child health, through manifestations of gender inequity in household decision making, labour and caregiving, and social norms dictating the status of women. Focus group discussions were conducted with community members, and in depth qualitative interviews with key-informants and stakeholders, in Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, and South Africa between April 2012 and October 2013. Findings highlighted that socially constructed gender roles, which define mothers as caregivers and fathers as wage earners, and which limit women's agency regarding childcare decisions, among other things, create considerable gaps when it comes to meeting child nutrition, education, and health care needs following a maternal death. Additionally, the findings show that maternal deaths have differential effects on boy and girl children, and exacerbate specific risks for girl children, including early marriage, early pregnancy, and school drop-out. The authors conclude that investment in health services interventions should be complemented by broader interventions regarding social protection, with a shifting of social norms and opportunity structures regarding gendered divisions of labour and power at household, community, and society levels.
Tracking universal health coverage: First global monitoring report
WHO; World Bank: Joint WHO/World Bank Group report, June 2015
Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people receive the quality, essential health services they need, without being exposed to financial hardship. Moving towards UHC is a dynamic, continuous process that requires changes in response to shifting demographic, epidemiological and technological trends, as well as people’s expectations. But in all cases, countries need to integrate regular monitoring of progress towards targets into their plans. In May 2014, the World Health Organization and the World Bank jointly launched a monitoring framework for UHC, based on broad consultation of experts from around the world. The framework focuses on indicators and targets for service coverage – including promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation – and financial protection for all. This report is the first of its kind to measure health service coverage and financial protection to assess countries’ progress towards universal health coverage. It shows that at least 400 million people do not have access to one or more essential health services and 6% of people in low- and middle-income countries are tipped into or pushed further into extreme poverty because of health spending.
Assisted dying: Avron Moss – another casualty of legal uncertainty
Thamm M: Daily Maverick, 10 March 2015
In January 2015, a few days before he would feature as Applicant No 1 in a groundbreaking High Court application for the right to an assisted death, Avron Moss ended his life using medication he had smuggled into South Africa from Mexico. Diagnosed with melanoma, Moss knew when he offered to act as the applicant that it would be a race against time. This article discusses the history and legal and social implications of assisted dying for the terminally ill in South Africa.
Gender-responsive HIV programming for women and girls
UNAIDS: UNAIDS Geneva 2014
This document guides countries on how to include a gender perspective and promote equality and human rights for women and girls in their national HIV responses, drawing upon the latest technical developments, guidelines and investment approaches. This is relevant as women and girls continue to be profoundly affected by HIV. The brief seeks to support a gender-responsive HIV response, as a first step towards the application of key tools and resources that help integrate gender considerations into concept notes, proposals, and national strategic plans.
Multisectoral Action Framework for Malaria
Roll Back Malaria Partnership; UNDP: UNDP New York, 2015
This Multisectoral Action Framework for Malaria makes a clear case for re-structuring the way countries address malaria. It presents a menu of concrete, implementable processes and actions to transform malaria
responses—from being a concern of the health sector only, towards a coordinated multi-pronged effort that harnesses expertise across a range of sectors and institutions. The Framework calls for action at several levels and in multiple sectors, globally and across inter- and
intra-national boundaries, and by different organizations. It emphasizes complementarity, effectiveness and sustainability, and capitalizes on the potential synergies to accelerate both socio-economic development and malaria control. It involves new interventions as well as putting new life into those that already exist, and coordinates and manages these in new and innovative ways. It is a guide for policymakers and practitioners and a stimulus for innovation.
World Malaria Day 2015: Invest in the Future, Defeat Malaria
Mosca D; Motus N: International Labour Organisation for Migration, April 2015
In 2013, there were about 198 million malaria cases in the world and an estimated 584,000 deaths from the disease. The countries endemic for malaria are also some of the poorest countries in the world. The burden of malaria on the poor, including migrants and displaced populations in these countries further fuels the cycle of poverty. IOM works with governments and partners, mostly in Africa and Asia, to ensure universal access to health care, including malaria prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment services among migrants and hard-to-reach populations. This year’s theme for World Malaria Day on April 25th was 'Invest in the Future: Defeat Malaria'. It focused on reaching 2015 malaria targets in all malaria-endemic countries, as well as scaling up efforts in malaria elimination and control beyond 2015.
Breaking the Rules 2014: Evidence of Violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent resolutions compiled from January 2011 to December 2013
International Baby Food Action Network: May 2014
Breaking the Rules 2014 (BTR) is a 237-page monitoring report which describes evidence of 813 Code violations, from 81 countries, collected between Jan 2011 and Dec 2013. The Rules are the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions (the Code), which are the yardstick to measure compliance by all companies in all countries. Following the request for clarification of ‘inappropriate promotion’ of foods for infants and young children, BTR: in Brief provides examples of marketing tactics that should not be allowed. The emphasis is on toddler milks or growing up milks (GUMs), a product which has been generating huge profits for the baby food industry over the past decade or more. The inappropriate promotions reported are Code violations. This abridged report is meant to show how the 16 largest baby food companies continue to ignore international recommendations adopted to protect infants and young children the world over so the public and investors can hold them to account.
Global malaria eradication and the importance of Plasmodium falciparum epidemiology in Africa
Snow RW: BMC Medicine 13(23), February 2015 doi:10.1186/s12916-014-0254-7
The global agenda for malaria has, once again, embraced the possibility of eradication. The author argues that as history has shown, there will be no single magic bullet that can be applied to every epidemiological setting. Africa has a diverse malaria ecology, lending itself to some of the highest disease burden areas of the world and a wide range of clinical epidemiological patterns making control with our current tools challenging. This commentary highlights why the epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Africa should not be forgotten when planning an eradication strategy, and why forgetting Africa will, according to the author, once again, be the single largest threat to any hope for global eradication.