Assessment 01
Human Rights Standards on Maternal Health
Excellent progress
Your SRHR programming and policies have strong foundations and commendable practices. Continue to monitor and refine for sustained success!
Good progress
Your SRHR programming and policies are on the right track! Keep building on these positive elements, and address noted areas for further improvement.
Partial progress
Your SRHR programming and policies show potential. Focus on strengthening the weaker areas you’ve identified to enhance overall effectiveness.
Needs improvement
Your SRHR programming and policies need attention. Implement the recommended changes to address gaps and strengthen impact.
Needs significant improvement
Your SRHR programming and policies have critical weaknesses. Prioritize the recommended strategies for a substantial overhaul that will improve effectiveness.
Take action
Want a higher score? Unlock insights to get tips for implementation and resources to help improve your programming and policies.
Case studies
Need ideas for your programming? Explore successful implementation examples.
Republic of CongoExpanding Quality Care for Young Indigenous Mothers.
In the Republic of Congo, UNFPA partnered with Médecins d’Afrique to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services for indigenous Baka women in the department of Sangha.
The “First Time Young Mother” initiative piloted a series of interventions from April to June 2017, including:
- hosting workshops for health providers on the specific needs of indigenous women
- training community volunteers to liaise with pregnant women to inform them of their rights to maternal health services and encourage them to go to health clinics
- training traditional birth attendants on biomedical practices to enable them to practice in medical institutions, and
- distributing kits with clothing and soap to pregnant indigenous women prior to their antenatal visits, so that they were able to arrive washed and wearing clean clothes and did not feel embarrassed when visiting the clinics.
As a result of these interventions, the number of women receiving antenatal care and giving birth in health clinics and hospitals in the district increased dramatically. In the first quarter of 2017, 10 women received antenatal care and 11 women gave birth in a medical facility. In the third quarter, 112 women received antenatal care and 38 gave birth in a medical facility.
KenyaHolding Maternal Health Providers Accountable for Abuse.
In 2013, Josephine Oundo Ongwen gave birth in Bungoma County Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya – and suffered severe physical and verbal abuse by hospital staff.
The hospital forced Josephine to purchase the medicine needed to induce her labor, which should have been given free of charge. Nurses told her that if she needed attention once her labor was induced, she would have to walk from the labor ward to the delivery room herself. She did so, only to find no available beds.
Josephine delivered her baby on the floor, with no medical assistance. Finding her unconscious, the nurses physically and verbally assaulted her for dirtying the floor. When she regained consciousness, they made her walk unassisted to the delivery room for examination.
Josephine suffered severe emotional trauma as a result of this maltreatment. Her ordeal was witnessed and documented by another patient, leading to widespread media coverage of her case.
The court that heard Josephine’s case found that the hospital had violated her right to dignity and subjected her to cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment. Its ruling, issued in 2018, clarified that Kenyan law guarantees every person the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including reproductive health; guarantees free maternal health care in public facilities; and establishes that these services must be accessible and safe.
Josephine’s case highlights the need for maternity services everywhere to be delivered in a respectful manner that honors each woman’s dignity. Since 2018, the government of Kenya has prioritized UHC as one of the key pillars of its Big Four Agenda. Access to free maternal health services is a key component of UHC through the Ministry of Health’s Linda Mama program, rolled out by the National Health Insurance Fund in 2017 to advance universal access to maternal and child health services and contribute to the country’s progress toward UHC.
Complete your SRHR Quiz
01. Human Rights Standards on Maternal Health
Ensuring health, well-being and dignity during pregnancy and childbirth.
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02. Human Rights Standards on Contraceptive Information and Services
Ensuring access to safe, voluntary family planning.
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03. Human Rights Standards on Comprehensive Sexuality Education
Enabling young people to protect and advocate for their health, well-being and dignity.
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04. Human Rights Standards on Comprehensive Abortion Care
Ensuring access to legal, safe, confidential and respectful abortion services.
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05. Human Rights Standards on HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections
Preventing transmission and promoting the health and rights of people living with HIV and other STIs.
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06. Human Rights Standards on Gender-Based Violence
Protecting the health, dignity, security and autonomy of women, girls and other vulnerable populations.
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07. Human Rights Standards on Harmful Practices
Working to end harmful practices rooted in gender discrimination.
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