Pharmacists urge Moses Kuria to reject KFDA Bill after heat therapy mishap
Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) has urged Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria to reject the Kenya Food and Drug Authority (KFDA) Bill.
The legislator is hospitalised after buying a warm mat that ended up burning his feet.
“He is one of the lucky few to live and tell their story. We support and encourage him to take this conversation back to Parliament,” said PSK in a statement.
PSK said ordinary Kenyans are facing imminent danger due to major piecemeal amendments to laws that govern medicines, health products and technologies in the country.
Opening loopholes
“The incoherent laws are opening loopholes and denying the country much-needed leadership in this crucial sector,” added PSK
“The KFDA Bill 2019 seeking to overhaul health products and technologies regulations has undergone first reading and we feel if not flagged will become law without robust national dialogue and discussion it so much deserves,” said PSK
PSK is reading malice at how much a major law like the Pharmacy and Poison Act can be quietly overhauled by a private members’ Bill.
“Where is the policy position paper that informed such a move? Why is the Cabinet through the Ministry of Health not leading this process? We have not seen how many of the country’s aspirations of being medicines innovators, manufacturers and supply chain security during these changing times are addressed in the KFDA Bill 2019,” said PSK.
Added PSK: “Who is the law meant to help? Passing such a major change blindly will definitely create an incoherent and out of touch law dooming the healthcare sector into chaos and retrogression.”
According to the pharmacists, KFDA Bill as drafted purports to regulate ordinary food contrary to provisions of the Health Act 2017.
“KFDA Bill 2019 should be rejected and instead the Ministry of Health should have a single regulatory Bill regulating medicine, health products and technologies should be tabled in Parliament for the public interest, professionalism and practice,” argued PSK.
PSK poked holes on the proposed KFDA Bill saying it “lacks crucial policy and regulatory law provisions around key areas like a poison information centre, cost-effectiveness analysis mechanisms for medicines and health products (health technology assessment).
Other critical areas overlooked by the Bill include clinical trials, biologic substances, scheduling of medicines and health products and levels of practice in handling medicines and health products.
