An Expository Study Of The Right Of Children To Health Under The Shari'ah And Nigerian Law
Right to health is the bedrock of all other rights. As a member of the international community, Nigeria is committed to protecting the rights of its citizens, especially the children to have access to adequate healthcare by adopting, ratifying and domesticating the Convention on the Rights of the...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_US |
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| Summary: | Right to health is the bedrock of all other rights. As a member of the international
community, Nigeria is committed to protecting the rights of its citizens, especially the
children to have access to adequate healthcare by adopting, ratifying and domesticating
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and enacting the Child's Rights Act, 2003.
Section 13 of the Act clearly requires both the government and parents to ensure the
provision of basic health facilities for the treatment and welfare of children and ensuring
that the children enjoy health benefits. Notwithstanding the provision of Section 13 of
the CRA. Nigerian children still suffer prevalently from diseases because of inadequate
health facilities and medical experts to attend to their medical needs. One of the greatest
challenges facing the health system in Nigeria is in the area of child health. According
to World Health Organization, Nigeria is among the five countries that contribute 50%
to the annual global mortality among infants and children under five - years of age as a
result of several epidemic diseases like malaria, pneumonia, measles, diarrhoea,
malnutrition and inadequate immunization. Meanwhile, Nigeria has a majority of
Muslims who constitute about 51% of the population. One of the challenges facing the
adequate implementation of the provisions of CRA 2003 including Section 13 is the
disagreement of some Muslims with the principles of the CRA 2003 on the grounds that
its provisions contravene fundamental principles of the Shari 'ah, including the maqasid
al-Shari'ah. This study, therefore, examines the extent to which the right of children to
health is protected under both the Shari'ah and the Nigerian legislation. The study also
investigates whether there are any conflicts between the provisions of both Shari'ah
and the Nigerian law regarding the protection of children's health. The study similarly
finds out the factors that contribute to the ineffective implementation of the protection
of children's right to health in Nigeria. The study was designed as a qualitative research
that draws from analysis of data taken from doctrinal research into primary and
secondary legal sources as well as unstructured interviews. The study also engaged in
comparative analysis of principles of Shari ah and the CRA 2003 on rights of children.
The study finds that Shari'ah fully recognises the right of children to health as part of
the Maqasid al-Shari 'ah. The study also finds that the provision of the CRA 2003 has
not been effectively implemented in Nigeria due to several social, cultural, religious,
political and legal factors. The study concludes that there is a need to recognise child's
right as an absolute right under the Nigerian Constitution by removing the ouster clause in place against Chapter I1 ofthe Constitution. The study proposes several ways forward
like harmonisation between the provisions of Shari'ah and the CRA 2003. |
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