They’re also seeking, among other things, monetary compensation for the women, and for awareness campaigns and training to be conducted. I was told by a gynecologist that my fallopian tubes were cut. Her consent to sterilization was also required for MSF to pay her hospital bills. Mutabarura, the monitoring and evaluation manager for ICWEA, says forced or coerced sterilization is more common in public health facilities because health workers have a limited time to introduce patients to various family planning options. He may stop paying my rent yet I have no job,” she says. The commission, which is a statutory body, concluded a five-year investigation into 48 cases brought to its attention by two civil rights groups, Reuters news agency reports. “I have been trying to conceive in vain,” she says. Cases have been reported in countries worldwide including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Namibia, Mexico, South Africa, the U.S. and elsewhere. Four Kenyan women, together with Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) and GEM, have filed a petition against Marie Stopes International, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Pumwani Maternity Hospital, a public maternity facility, and various government officials. JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A scathing new report reveals that dozens of HIV-positive women were forced or coerced into sterilization after giving birth at public hospitals in South Africa. Tabitha says KELIN is still receiving reports of forced sterilization of HIV-positive women. She lost her first husband to HIV, and she hasn’t had any children since 2008, when she delivered her last-born child via cesarean section at a public hospital in Arua District in northwestern Uganda. African countries have been sites for clinical trials by large pharmaceutical companies, raising human rights concerns. One Kenyan woman, together with KELIN and GEM, has filed a petition against MARURA, a maternity nursing home, as well as various government officials. Women and rights groups in East Africa are watching a legal battle in Kenya, where five women with HIV who were forced into sterilization are suing the government and healthcare providers for violating their rights. Last July we wrote about the situation in Namibia, where the forced sterilization of HIV positive women is being documented and litigated. The World Health Organization says South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world with more than 7 million people living with the illness. One of the sterilized Kenyan women, who is referred in court documents as SWK, says she conceived in 2009, according to the petition. In many cases, “the hospitals’ staff had threatened not to assist them in giving birth” if they didn’t sign the consent forms for sterilization, the report says. In Uganda, 20 out of 72 women who reported having been sterilized said the procedure was forced upon them or they were coerced, according to a study published in June 2015 by the ICWEA. Ruth, a Ugandan woman who was sterilized with her knowledge. She says the government plans to investigate claims of forcible sterilization. Some of the hospitals are in some of the country’s largest cities such as Johannesburg and Durban. The commission said its investigation took time because of challenges including some hospital staffers who tried to hide documents or refused to cooperate. Two years ago, Ruth, who has HIV, learned that she was sterilized, without her consent or knowledge, when she had that C-section. Several organizations, including UNAIDS, have applied to be enjoined in the cases, according to multiple sources at KELIN. Dozens of HIV-positive women in South Africa have been sterilised without their consent or were pressured to agree just before giving birth, an official inquiry has found. It will refer its report to the Health Professions Council of South Africa, which has a mandate to act against health care practitioners. Women and rights groups in East Africa are watching a legal battle in Kenya, where five women with HIV who were forced into sterilization are suing the government and healthcare providers for violating their rights. Dozens of HIV-positive women in South Africa have been sterilised without their consent or were pressured to agree just before giving birth, an official inquiry has found. Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize had requested an urgent meeting with Ms Mathebula to discuss the report, his department was quoted by Reuters as saying. Click here to see more coronavirus coverage, 700 Pennsylvania Ave SE In Kenya, a group of those women are suing the government and some health facilities for violating their reproductive health rights. “We are committed here in Kenya, and everywhere where Marie Stopes works, to ensuring that all women are able to exercise their right to choose if, when and how many children they have – with no interference from others, and regardless of their HIV status,” Faustina Flynn-Nyame, the country director said in the statement when the cases were filed in court. A nutritionist at the clinic asked her to provide proof that she had undergone tubal ligation so she could receive the milk. Mmbwavi hopes the lawsuits will end forcible sterilizations in Kenya and highlight other violations of sexual reproductive health rights of women with HIV. “I am sad that I am unable to have children for him,” she says. Several days after leaving the hospital, according to the petition, SWK went to the Blue House clinic to collect formula milk for her baby. She would tell the doctors off. In Kenya, KELIN and GEM want a declaration from the court stating that the rights of the five women were violated. Lydia Matata of GPJ Kenya highlights one of the many challenges in reporting this story — finding sources. “I was told by a gynecologist that my fallopian tubes were cut.”. Ruth, who asked that only her first name be used, is among an unknown number of women with HIV in East Africa who say they were forcibly sterilized because of their health status. Lawyers selected the five women from the 40 women noted in the report because they had proper documentation that could be used in court, says Saoyo Tabitha Griffith, a lawyer and program manager for sexual reproductive health and rights at KELIN. Why are you asking questions now? In Africa, where many communities place a high value on childbearing, some women who can’t get pregnant face discrimination. Sarah Nakayima, a Ugandan woman who was sterilized without her knowledge. State hospitals had violated the dignity of the women and “forced sterilisation subjects women to inhumane conditions and torture”, the Commission for Gender Equality said, when releasing its findings. At times it occurred when women were in labor. The 39-year-old tailor remarried five years ago. In an email to GPJ, Flynn-Nyame wrote that she could not comment on the case. A rich woman living with HIV would not go through that. Launch of investigative report on forced sterilisation in public health care services . Lydia Matata of GPJ Kenya highlights one of the many challenges in reporting this story — finding sources. Some 19% of the people around the world with HIV live in the country, which also has 15% of new infections. Greetings to everyone. She would tell the doctors off. Marie Stopes Kenya and MSF, in response to accusations made against them in court, say staff at their facilities do not forcibly sterilize women with HIV. Ruth, an HIV-positive woman, says she was sterilized without her consent when she had a C-section in a public health facility. I can’t tell my husband. GPJ reporters in Kenya and Uganda teamed up to tell the complex story of forced sterilizations. Some Ugandan women living with HIV say they were forced or coerced into getting sterilized, sometimes without their knowledge. Forced and coerced sterilization is a global phenomenon.