The main objective of this study was to document case studies of the impact of the Global Gag
Rule on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) service provision, and access at selected NGO and NGO-affiliated clinics during the Covid-19 period in Uganda.

It was designed to facilitate an in-depth exploration of the experiences of clinics in the period of the twin challenges of the Global Gag Rule and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The effects of the Global Gag Rule have not only been far-reaching but are likely to be long-term, mostly impacting poor, vulnerable women and sexually active girls.

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Adolescents in Uganda face a number of challenges related to sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR). They start having sexual intercourse at a young age, which results in early and unintended pregnancies, early and forced marriages, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, ill health, dropping out of school, disability and even death.

Adolescents therefore need information on their sexuality and STIs, family planning and counselling services, contraceptives, HIV prevention and care services, maternal health services for adolescent mothers, post-abortion care, psychosocial support and other services, in order to smoothly transition to adulthood.

CEHURD under the SAAF project developed a position paper on the capacity of adolescents to consent to sexual reproductive health services in 2020. Download paper here >>>

The right to healthcare is a fundamental human right. It requires states to put in place policies and plans that will lead to available and accessible health services for their populace in the shortest possible time. Studies have shown the benefit to health in countries that have this right enshrined in their constitutions.

This discussion paper is produced by the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) as part of the theme work on health rights and law of the Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET). The paper examines the implementation of constitutional provisions on the right to healthcare in Kenya and Uganda, two countries in East Africa. It aims to identify factors and mechanisms that have facilitated implementation of constitutional provisions on the right to healthcare, including how the constitutions were developed and framed. We compare implementation in Kenya, where the right to healthcare is explicit in their 2010 Constitution, and in Uganda, where the right to healthcare is implicit in the National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.

The paper draws on two EQUINET case studies on implementation of constitutional provisions on the right to health, one each in Kenya and Uganda, published in 2018, a 2017 regional workshop that discussed the implementation of constitutional provisions on the right to health, and additional review of published literature. It presents a thematic analysis of the findings from the two case studies in terms of the judicial, political and popular implementation mechanisms, exploring further the factors and mechanisms that have facilitated or blocked their implementation. As the two constitutions address the right to healthcare differently, this analysis of their application provides insights into the factors and mechanisms for practice that may be useful in other settings.

A brief on achieving zero discrimination against victims of HIV and AIDS, March 2016