Labour Congress, OTUWA shout… “Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign”

By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay

FREETOWN, Mar. 30 (232news.com) – During a press conference at their Solidarity Hall in Freetown, on the 18^th March, 2022, the Sierra Leone Labour Congress/Organization of Trade Union of West Africa (OTUWA) / Solidarity Centre and Sierra Leone Health Services Workers Union in their campaign described Healthcare as a Human Right.

The organisation recalled that in 2020, Solidarity Centre organized two workshops in Abuja. Participants from six (6) West Africa nations received training in communication skills to conduct an effective and coordinated regional advocacy campaign targeting national governments and ECOWAS. At the end of the trainings, the OTUWA Communication Working Group was formed, and Healthcare is a Human Right was adopted as the campaign slogan.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, OTUWA and Solidarity Center carried out a healthcare survey across six (6) West African countries namely: The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. The survey which sought to assess the availability of quality and affordable healthcare for workers in the informal sector, was conducted both online using the Google form as an instrument of data gathering, as well as face-to-face, to accommodate those who did not have access to the internet or lacked proper use of same. Focus Group discussions were also carried out in two of the participating countries, in Liberia and Nigeria. The survey resulted in the following findings:

1. There are not enough healthcare facilities and medical personnel in many West African countries;

1. West African healthcare systems performed poorly in their responses to COVID-19 pandemic;

1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) are not widely available to healthcare workers on the frontline;

1. Healthcare workers do not have sufficient access to COVID-19 tests;

• Members of the public do not have sufficient access to COVID-19 tests;

• Access to PPEs and training on the use of PPEs would make healthcare worker feel safer doing their jobs;

• Majority of healthcare workers are required to do additional tasks and work an increased number of hours;

In a bid to gather consensus and validate the findings of the survey, a presentation of the survey findings and strategic stakeholders meeting was convened by OTUWA on 7th October, 2020. The meeting which held on zoom was hosted by Solidarity Center and drew participants from regional worker-based organizations, national labor centers, health sector unions across the West African sub region and international organization like the ILO. The high-level meeting resolved that ECOWAS structures, national governments and relevant healthcare authorities must act in the following respect:

1. Prioritizing and increasing budgetary spending on health facilities and supplies;

1. Ensuring access to adequate PPEs and other supplies to healthcare workers;

1. Intensifying Covid-19 tests for healthcare workers and the general public;

1. Protection of the rights of health workers to ensure a sustainable healthcare management across the sub region.

In 2021, the Organization of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) with further support from Solidarity Center OTUWA expanded its regional ‘Healthcare is a Human Right’ advocacy campaign to include informal workers-based unions/organizations and created a network of informal sector workers network to undertake a comprehensive regional campaign at the sub regional and national levels. The network consists of ten (10) informal workers-based unions/associations across six (6) countries of The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone successfully carried out its campaign activity in August, 2021.

Another healthcare survey was conducted across six (6) West African countries namely: The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone was conducted to assess the availability of quality and affordable healthcare in the informal sector. The results of this second survey also indicated a failing health systems across the participating countries as Most of the respondents (78%) reported not being able to afford healthcare services and over 90% of the respondents admitted that they have had to go to work despite being very sick on several occasions in their working lives due to the necessity to earn some money for basic sustenance.

The survey findings were shared by OTUWA with the media in a hybrid event held on 3rd June 2021 in Abuja and on zoom. Afterwards, the various country working groups with the support of Solidarity Center undertook follow-up advocacy campaigns. In Sierra Leone for example, a press conference was organized to share the survey findings with informal sector workers and other stakeholders, advocacy visits to government agencies and development partners like European Union, World Bank, UNDP equally took place. While in Nigeria, advocacy letters and report were distributed to the National Assembly in Abuja, Federal Ministry of Labour, and other stakeholders, a press conference, and advocacy visits to Federal Ministry of Labour, Federal Ministry of Health, and others relevant stakeholders were undertaken.

Why are we here today? The answer is to further the expansion of the regional level work earlier implemented through a new network of health sector unions in Sierra Leone. This activity is also being funded by the Solidarity Center and jointly implemented by Organization of Trade Union of West Africa (OTUWA) and West Africa Health Sector Unions Network (WAHSUN).

The objective here is to expand the inclusion of health sector unions/workers as key constituents for Healthcare is a Human Right Campaign to leverage on their potential to lobby with government and other stakeholders for the promotion of healthcare in Sierra Leone.

On a specific note, the following activities are to be implemented in carrying out campaign efforts:

1. Organize a validation meeting with the leaderships of health sector unions in Sierra Leone and share the reports and previous advocacy activities with them.
2. Hold media/press conference(s) to share previous research/survey findings and provide insights into the advocacy campaigns.
3. Follow-up activities through scheduled/unscheduled visits to relevant authorities and sharing campaign leaflets to target groups.
4. Shall undertake other activities that are incidental to the successful implementation of the project.

Ladies and gentlemen, permit me to conclude by saying that universal access to healthcare, without discrimination, is a human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Reports have shown that there is a healthcare crisis with countless people unable to access life-saving care due to cost. This has a disproportionate impact on people already marginalized due to socio-economic status, gender identity, and other factors. Whilst the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has further worsened the problem. 

Instead of treating healthcare as a partisan political issue, it should be addressed as a human rights issue. That would mean putting in place a system of universal, equitable, non-discriminatory health care to guarantee access to comprehensive, quality care for all people as a right and a public good.

We therefore call upon everyone especially journalists and other stakeholders to join us on this “healthcare is a human right campaign” so that government provides better and affordable health services for all.