Public Dialogue on Maternal Healthcare – A discussion on the politics of policy & inclusion of women in policy making towards better healthcare

Article 43 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) provides that every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health including reproductive health care. Article 43 (2) further provides that no one shall be denied emergency medical treatment.

The right to reproductive health care is further underscored in regional and international treaties that Kenya has signed and ratified, and by dint of article 2 (6) of the Constitution these treaties form part of Kenyan law.[1] The treaties include: The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights of Women in Africa (Africa Women Protocol),[2] the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD),[3] the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) among others. The obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to reproductive health care are further elaborated in several General Comments including General Comment No.22 on the right to sexual and reproductive health by the Committee on Economic and Social Cultural Rights (CESCR), General Comment No.3 on women and girls with disabilities by the Committee on Rights of Persons with Disabilities[4], the General Recommendation No.35 on gender-based violence against women by the CEDAW[5] and General Comment No.4 on the African on Human and People’s Rights on the right to redress for victims of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.

Reproductive rights lie at the heart of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 3 on good health and well-being and goal 5 on gender equality explicitly identifies universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services as one of the key targets to ensuring that no one is left behind by 2030. The SDGs also envisions a reduction in global maternal ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

In operationalizing the constitutional right to reproductive health care, government in 2013 adopted a free maternity service policy. Additionally, a patient’s charter was put in place which recognizes the right to the highest standard of health, right to emergency treatment and entrenches a provision on dispute resolution.[6]

Despite a robust legal framework on the reproductive health care, access to quality maternal health services remain a rhetoric. According to a report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), inadequate resources, insufficient infrastructure and lack of physical access to health facilities adversely impact on maternal health care services.[7] This is further compounded by direct attacks and abuse of women and girls seeking maternal health services. Cases of physical and verbal abuse and detention in health facilities remain rampant.[8]

Indeed in 2013, the Committee Against Torture (CAT) raised concerns ‘about post-delivery detention of women unable to pay their medical bills, including in private health facilities and urged the government to strengthen its efforts to end detention in hospitals’. CAT further asked ‘the government  to effectively monitor conditions in reproductive health facilities as a means of preventing torture or ill-treatment’.[9] In 2015, the High Court ruled that detention of two women in Pumwani hospital was a violation of: the right to liberty and freedom from movement, right to health, right to dignity, right to be free from discrimination and right to be free from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.[10] Despite the ground-breaking judgment, complaints of detention in  health facilities  post -delivery and physical abuse continue to be documented.[11]

Against this background, CRR in partnership Heinrich Boll will be organizing a public dialogue on the quality of maternal services in Kenya. The dialogue creates space for women rights organizations, relevant state and non-state agencies, reproductive rights advocates and survivors to interrogate current free maternity policy framework, its implementation and the extent to which it promotes or impedes achievement of quality maternal health services.

Key Questions:

• How can women at the grassroots level engage in policy discussions regarding quality maternal health care?
• Does the current free maternity services policy framework adequately address quality maternal health care services and how can the process be made more inclusive?
• How effective are the complaint & redress mechanisms where fundamental rights pertaining to reproductive and maternal healthcare violations occur?
• Is there a relationship between health workers’ morale and implementation of free maternity services?

Invited Speakers:

1. Nyasha Chingore - Regional Manager, Africa Regional Office, Center for Reproductive Rights
2. Dr. Fredrick Ouma Oluga - Secretary General, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union
3. Patricia Nyaundi - Commission Secretary, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights

Format of discussion:

A panel discussion contextualizes issues to the audience. This is infused with public dialogue and Q&A where the audience engages with the panel and forum.

About Heinrich Böll Foundation

Being part of the Green political movement that has developed worldwide as a response to the traditional politics of socialism, liberalism, and conservatism, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung is a Green Political Foundation, affiliated to the German political party “Alliance ’90 / The Greens”. The regional office for East and Horn of Africa is a people-centric green think-tank, based in Nairobi since 2001. In our work, we facilitate open dialogue, undertake studies and forge partnerships with and among communities in East & Horn of Africa along the core themes of Gender, Environment, Democracy and International Dialogue.

About Center For Reproductive Rights

For 25 years, the Center for Reproductive Rights has used the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill.

Since 1992, our attorneys have boldly used legal and human rights tools to create this world. We are the only global legal advocacy organization dedicated to reproductive rights, with expertise in both U.S. constitutional and international human rights law. Our groundbreaking cases before national courts, United Nations committees, and regional human rights bodies have expanded access to reproductive healthcare, including birth control, safe abortion, prenatal and obstetric care, and unbiased information. We influence the law outside the courtroom as well, documenting abuses, working with policymakers to promote progressive measures, and fostering legal scholarship and teaching on reproductive health and human rights.

We are legal innovators seeking to fundamentally transform the landscape of reproductive health and rights worldwide, and have already strengthened laws and policies in more than 50 countries. Help us realize every woman's right to reproductive health and autonomy.

About the Gender Forum

The Gender Forum is a monthly public dialogue convened by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung since 2001, encouraging dialogue on pertinent national social issues with a gendered lens. It brings together scholars, law- makers and implementers, civil activists, government institutions, students and the general public, aiming at sharing knowledge and inspiring gendered analysis of policy and programmes. 

Sign language will be provided.

Join the conversation online via #GenderForum.

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