Legislators commit to work with civil society organizations for the realization of the right to health

Legislators have vowed to work with civil society organizations to ensure the full realization of the right to health is achieved. This was during an inter-governmental dialogue on laws and policies in the HIV & TB response hosted by KELIN at Hotel Intercontinental on 18 February 2016.

The legislators further committed to work with civil society organizations to ensure that the pieces of legislation required to achieve the right to health are enacted and implemented. The civil society was urged to share with legislators important information required to beef up the legislations.  This would thus ensure that legislators push for formulation and enactment of watertight laws on the right to health.

A few of the key issues highlighted during the dialogue were: the available legislative framework in the HIV response, common forms of violations faced by People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and the role of legislators in pushing forward the health agenda.

The dialogue was attended by 17 members of the National Assembly, a member of the Senate, six members of the County Assembly, and over twenty representatives of civil society organizations working on HIV & TB-related human rights in Kenya. Hon. Agostinho Neto in his address identified some of the challenges in realizing the right to health. These included; lack of effective enforcement mechanisms, inept leadership, corruption, privatization of human rights, misguided visions of development, and deficient political will, among others.

The dialogue underscored the importance of legislators in pushing the national and county agendas in the promotion of HIV & TB-related human rights, as well as the broader realization of the right to health.

KELIN and other stakeholders have undertaken to engage with the legislators on the proposed changes to the Health Bill 2016, the Legal Aid Bill 2016 and the Narcotics Law, which are pending before Parliament for debate.

To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platforms:

Twitter: @KELINkenya using the hashtag #HIVLaw
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya

 

For more information contact:

Lucy Ghati

Programme Manager HIV &TB

Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV & AIDS (KELIN)
4th Floor, Somak Building, Mombasa Road
PO Box 112-00200, KNH
Email: lghati@kelinkenya.org
Mobile No: +254 708 389 870