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Health, Agriculture Ministries fight over control of veterinary medicines

Health & Science
 Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Willy Bett (right) flanked by Fisheries PS Michelin Ntiba (left) adressing a press conference. [Photo:WILLIS AWANDU/Standard]

The Health Ministry and its Agriculture and Livestock counterpart are locked in a dispute over powers to regulate medicines for livestock. 

This comes after the Agriculture and Livestock Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett gazetted the Veterinary Medicines Directorate to regulate the manufacture, importation, exportation, registration, distribution, prescription and dispensing of veterinary medicines in Kenya.

But Health CS Dr. Cleopa Mailu has opposed the move insisting that the legal mandate over that class of medicines remains firmly under his Ministry through the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

“The gazettement of the directorate has created regulatory confusion in the pharmaceutical sector since it has created a second body to do the same job of regulating veterinary medicines. It appears due diligence was not done,” he said via phone on Tuesday.

He added: “This situation is not good for the pharmaceutical sector as it undermines ease of doing business due to double regulation. The Pharmacy Board should be allowed to do its job. Human and animal medicines are produced by the same pharmaceutical companies and cannot be regulated by different bodies.”

Dr. Mailu said the regulatory mandate of the Pharmacy board over veterinary medicines has not been repealed and still stands.

He said the Health Bill that will soon become law still gives the institution (to be renamed the Kenya Food and Drugs Administration) powers over both livestock and human medicines.

“Veterinary professionals should leave matters of regulating and dispensing medicines to pharmacists just like Medical doctors do. There is no such thing as veterinary pharmacists,” he said.

The Health CS said a meeting is planned with his Agriculture and Livestock counterpart together with their technical teams to seek a way forward.

He said Veterinarians should not agitate for a separate body to regulate veterinary medicines saying they are well represented in the Pharmacy and Poisons Board with the Director of Veterinary Services having a seat.

But Livestock Department Principal Secretary Andrew Tuimur said the regulatory mandate over veterinary medicines is now with the new directorate and not with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

“Due process was followed in creating the directorate and assigning its regulatory functions.  Even the Attorney General’s office issued a legal opinion in May 2015 validating the transfer of regulatory mandate. So double regulation does not arise,” he said. 

He added: “The Ministry of Health was part of the stakeholders who were invited when the regulations creating the directorate were being developed. Why do they come out now when this process has been ongoing for a long time?” he asked.

He said the directorate was created in response to widespread misuse of livestock medicines saying many pharmacists are not well informed with regard to dispensing the drugs in right dosages.

“Veterinary professionals are better placed to handle this class of drugs. They claim that they are not qualified is untrue. They have studied Pharmacology and toxicology for a whole year as part of their veterinary training,” he said.

On their part, major pharmacies that distribute veterinary medicines across the country have also insisted that new directorate should stay away from veterinary medicines.  They vowed to move to court if the matter is not resolved.

Through their umbrella body, the Kenya Pharmaceuticals Distributors Association, they said regulation of the medicines by two bodies is likely to increase costs of the medicine and create loopholes for counterfeit and substandard medicines in the market.

“The role of a veterinary professional is similar to that of a medical practitioner in that both professionals are trained to diagnose, provide prescriptions and administer treatments not regulate medicines,” ” said KPDA  Chairman Dr Kamamia Murichu in a petition to the Ministry of Health, Attorney General and Parliament.

Dr Murichu said veterinarians are not sufficiently trained to handle maters of regulating, preparing and dispensing of medicines as opposed to pharmacists. He said they have taken only a few courses related to medicine.

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