NGO wants expert committee to draft Public Health Bill LIs
The Ministry of Health and the Attorney General’s Department have been asked to expedite action in constituting a committee of experts from the health sector to draft Legislative Instruments (LIs), to facilitate the implementation of the Public Health Bill, which was passed by Parliament on June 11, this year.
Mr Labram Musah, Programmes Director of Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), made the call on Wednesday at a stakeholders meeting with civil society organisations in Accra.
He stressed that though the Bill was yet to receive the President’s assent, the actors must take steps and put in place the committee.
Mr Musah said a delay in the drafting of the LIs would “kill the spirit behind the law”, and asked civil society groupings to come together and ensure that the appropriate authorities form the committee.
He said it was a long battle for the passage of the Bill by Parliament and the drafting of the LIs should not be a hindrance to the implementation of the Bill, and added “if it is about funding, the Ministry of Health should come clear so as to see where to source for funding.”
“Some laws have suffered the same fate of delay in the drafting of LIs making them ineffective, but we should not allow the Public Health Bill to suffer same because of the dangerous health effect of smoking of tobacco and its related products on the people,”
Mr Musah appealed to government to release funds to the Attorney General’s Department and the Ministry of Health to enable them to constitute a committee to start work on the LIs.
Mr Kassim Larry of Legal Resources Centre – Ghana, said without the LIs there would be no regulation and processes of prosecuting offenders of the law, and called on civil societies to form a strong team and lobby the appropriate departments and agencies for the drafting of the LIs.
Mr Ali Issah, Executive Director of VALD, took the meeting through the nine parts of the Public Health Bill, and said the NGO was not comfortable with certain parts of provisions in the Bill but for the meantime the Bill must be allowed to receive the President’s assent before any amendments.
He mentioned in particular the definition of a public place, the exemption given to the tertiary institutions for example the universities and demarcated areas of smoking in the Bill.
Mr Issah advocated that civil society members should be added to the inspectors and analysts that the Food and Drugs Authority would be appoint to discharge its functions so that they do not compromise their duties.
Mr Issa warned the public to be cautious of the subtle way the tobacco companies were now packaging their adverts to deceive the public in exposing children to tobacco-related products.
The meeting was of the view that Ghana must go the Kenya way by outright banning tobacco smoking without any exemptions.
The Bill when ratified by the President would provide comprehensive legislation on tobacco control, vaccination, quarantine, clinical trials, food and drugs, communicable diseases, vector control and environmental sanitation.
The legislation prohibits smoking in public places, ban advertising of tobacco, tobacco sponsorship, promotion and sale of products that looks like or likely to be identified or associated with tobacco products.
Source: GNA