title: A global social contract to reduce maternal mortality: the human rights arguments and the case of Uganda.
abstract: Progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5a, reducing maternal deaths by 75% between 1990 and 2015, has been substantial; however, it has been too slow to hope for its achievement by 2015, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda. This suggests that both the Government of Uganda and the international community are failing to comply with their right-to-health-related obligations towards the people of Uganda. This country case study explores some of the key issues raised when assessing national and international right-to-health-related obligations. We argue that to comply with their shared obligations, national and international actors will have to take steps to move forward together. The Government of Uganda should not expect additional international assistance if it does not live up to its own obligations; at the same time, the international community must provide assistance that is more reliable in the long run to create the 'fiscal space' that the Government of Uganda needs to increase recurrent expenditure for health - which is crucial to addressing maternal mortality. We propose that the 'Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for AIDS, TB and Malaria Response in Africa', adopted by the African Union in July 2012, should be seen as an invitation to the international community to conclude a global social contract for health.
authors: Researcher, Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine; Researcher, Law and Development Research Group, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: gooms@itg.be.
authors: Gorik
authors: G
authors: Ooms
authors: Moses
authors: M
authors: Mulumba
authors: Rachel
authors: R
authors: Hammonds
authors: Abdul
authors: A
authors: Latif Laila
authors: Attiya
authors: A
authors: Waris
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Forman
mesh_terms: D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008428:Maternal Mortality; D012935:Social Justice; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology; D014933:Women's Rights
keywords: Uganda; displacement; fiscal space; human rights; maternal mortality; reproductive rights; right to health