Health Legislation

This Act provides for public health, the conditions for improvement of the health and quality of life and the health care for all people in Zimbabwe, the rights, duties, powers and functions of all parties in the public health system, and the measures for administration of public health.

This Act repeals and substitutes the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The new Constitution, provided in the schedule of the Act, includes 345 articles addressing a wide array of issues including, among others, founding provisions, national objectives, citizenship, declaration of rights, the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the courts, principles of public administration, civil service and security services, local authorities, corruption etc. (non-exhaustive list).

The Constitutional Petition No. 16 of 2011 challenges the government's failure to provide minimum maternal health services, asserting that this violates constitutional rights to health, life, and dignity. In 2015, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the petitioners, emphasizing the need for the government to ensure access to essential maternal health services, such as skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric care, to protect the right to life and dignity.

The Constitution of Uganda was adopted in 1995. The Constitution of Uganda is a supreme law of the state that establishes the key values and principles of the organization of the state, establishes rights, freedoms and obligations, separates the powers within the state and establishes the key state bodies. The Constitution of Uganda consists of 287 articles that are grouped into 19 chapters.