Individual Autonomy to Communal Justice: Integrating Ubuntu into Public Health Law in the East African Community

Abstract

The governance of public health in the East African Community (EAC) has become fraught with ethical dilemmas between individual civil liberties and communal health interests. This is due to the prevalent rights-based approach to autonomy that, although it prevents medical paternalism, alienates patients from necessary communal bonds and ignores the social dimension of health in Africa. This research aims at objectively establishing how the Ubuntu philosophy can be used to reform public health laws in the EAC for communal justice. The methodology involves philosophical analysis through literature review and assessment of existing regional legal regimes on the interplay between individual rights and communal duties. The results indicate that Ubuntu ethics such as solidarity and interdependence offer better normative foundations for health policies compared to radical individualism. Therefore, this study concludes that public health law reform based on relational justice will contribute to health equity and resilience in the EAC.