What Can Be Done about Maternal Mortality in Uganda?

AfricLaw (June 3, 2016): Uganda: Why the Constitutional Court Should Rule on the Right to Health, by Michael Addaney:

Responding to the shocking statistic that thirteen women giving birth in Uganda die each day due to circumstances that could be prevented (e.g., severe bleeding, infection, hypertensive disorders and obstructed labor), Michael Addaney notes that universal human rights could play a role in addressing the crisis.  The current obstacle, he notes, is the political question doctrine, which forbids courts from deciding certain cases because the question lies in the province of elected officials. 

In 2011, a non-governmental organization sued Uganda for violating the constitutional rights to health and life by not providing basic minimum maternal health care.  The court ruled that the petitioners had presented a political question.  Addaney notes, however, that the International Court of Justice has questioned judicial dodging of "political" questions "whenever the rights, interests or status of any person are infringed or threatened by executive action."  The Supreme Court of Uganda appears to agree.  In 2015, it reversed the ruling of the lower court, holding that "the petition has critical questions that need constitutional interpretation." 

Addaney is hopeful that with the evolution of human rights and modern constitutionalism the political question doctrine will see its end.