Implications of the Covid-19 mitigation model on people’s right to health in Uganda

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the approach used by the Ugandan Government in implementing the Covid-19 mitigation model and establish whether it did not expose government’s failure to soundly protect and respect all her citizens’ right to health during the first four months of the Covid-19 crisis in the country.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was qualitative focusing on a population of households of vulnerable and chronically ill patients in Mukono and Wakiso districts of Uganda. The sample was identified through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Purposive and snowball sampling was chosen for this study to select unique informative cases which were subjected to in-depth interviews.

Findings

The findings of the study revealed that disadvantaged and vulnerable citizens of Uganda experienced severe and increased shortages of food, increased cases of ill-health, compromised ability and mobility to access health services as a result of the government's Covid-19 mitigation model.

Research limitations/implications

The data collection exercise was conducted during the Covid-19 lockdown when the mobility was restricted to only essential services so data was collected in the two districts of Mukono and Wakiso in Uganda.

Practical implications

Pandemic mitigation models ought to be people-centred executed by a multidisciplinary team which are empathetic towards the views of disadvantaged communities and thereby cultivate a culture of care over time.

Social implications

Public health models and policies work more effectively if they are contextualized to work for both the high and low classes of people across the whole spectrum.

Originality/value

Given this awareness of the Covid-19 mitigation model, this paper unveils the immediate consequential effects of the model considering the manner under which it was formulated and implemented in the Ugandan society. While the government implemented the model in exercise of its obligations, contextual factors had advance limitations to the efficacy of the model. Most significantly, among the expectant mothers, the old, the sick with terminal illnesses, the physically challenged and hunger-stricken families with no daily sources of income.

Citation

Buwule, R.S., Ssebunya, M. and Kisitu, G. (2022), "Implications of the Covid-19 mitigation model on people’s right to health in Uganda", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 388-398. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-01-2021-0017