Sandra Ochola, KELIN’s Deputy Executive Director represented KELIN at the meeting that was attended by right to information and right to health practitioners from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Malawi who were drawn from civil society and government institutions. Some of the organizations and institutions included the Ministry of Health in Uganda, Open Society Justice initiative (OSJI), HURINET, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Kenya Chapter, Transparency International (TI), KELIN, TCIB, A&E Law partnership, Asha Razyn Foundation (ARF) and Uganda Health Communication Alliance (UHCA)
During the meeting participants affirmed that the right to information is crucial to the realization of the right to health and that stakeholders must engage in strategic partnerships to make both rights a reality. The attendees made presentations on their country situations with practitioners from Uganda, Nigeria and Zimbabwe highlighting the progress, challenges and lessons learned in the implementation of their respective Access to Information laws. Participants also deliberated on the existing and emerging right to health information issues and priorities across the continent. These included limited transparency and accountability in health financing, limited public awareness on right to health information, weak institutional frameworks for the implementation of the right and cultural and religious beliefs that inhibit the comprehensive realization of human rights.
To ensure an informed and collaborative approach in addressing these challenges the participants developed a draft regional workplan that mapped out amongst other things, their priority issues, advocacy goals and the strategies they would employ in securing health information. A technical working group on access to information and right to health has also been established to strengthen the participants’ networking and advocacy initiatives and steer their collaborative efforts in the achieving the right to health information in the region.
To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platforms using the hash tag #AccessToInfoKE
Twitter: @KELINkenya
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya
For more information contact:
Sandra Ochola
Deputy Executive Director
Mombasa Road, Somak building 4th Floor
P O Box 112 – 00200 KNH Nairobi,
Tel: 020, 2515790 │Mobile: 0790 339964
E-mail: sochola@kelinkenya.org
Website: www.kelinkenya.org
