Module Two: Children’s right and the law

• Study Session One: International and regional law introduces the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). It provides guidance on the key rights that they contain, and the principles that need to inform how they are implemented. It highlights how and why these are relevant for health workers.
• Study Session Two: National laws and policies looks at the measures that have been introduced in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia to implement children’s rights into national laws. All four countries have introduced legislation which incorporates the key rights and principles in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter into their own national legal framework. This session will focus on those areas of the legislation which are of particular relevance to health workers. This knowledge will help health workers understand how to respect children’s rights in their day to day work, and how to recognize and take action if their rights are not being respected by others.
• Study Session Three: The right to health explains what the right to health actually means and its implications. It highlights the importance of a holistic approach to health, recognising that children’s right to health can only be fully realized if all other rights are respected. It will also outline the responsibilities of governments, health services and individual health workers to ensure that the right to health is fully realized.