News:
July 20, 2012
Mr. Muntaka M. Mubarak, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, has called on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to partner the Ministry of Health (MOH) in enforcing and educating the public on the Public Health Bill.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday in Accra, on the passage of the Public Health Bill, Mr. Mubarak said although the Ministry of Health (MOH) have been given the mandate to educate the public on the implications of this law, it was mandatory for everyone to help implement it.
He explained that the MOH through the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority and the Police Service will facilitate the enforcement of the Public Health Bill.
Mr. Muntaka said any one who breaches the public health bill will face three years imprisonment or pay GHC75000 penalty units as a legal sanction.
Mr. lssah Ali, Executive Director of Vision for Alternative Development expressed his gratitude to President John Evans Atta Mills, his Cabinet and individuals for their hard work, dedication and commitment leading to the passage of the bill.
“We in the Civil Society organization will continue to protect and defend any public policy of government that seeks to enhance the living standards of Ghanaians and people living in Ghana. Any attempt by the tobacco industry to interfere in the Presidential assent and the implementation of the Public Health Bill, especially the Tobacco Control Measures, will be vehemently countered and exposed” he added.
Mr. Ali urged government to increase budget allocation through tax increment on tobacco products in order to effectively implement the Public Health bill.
He appealed to the Food and Drugs Board and the Ghana Health Service to immediately commence consultation with NGOs and other relevant stakeholders on the development of a national action plan to implement the Tobacco Control Measures of the Public Health Bill.
Dr. Iddrissu Sow, the Country Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), congratulated Parliament and the Government of Ghana for the achievements in the area of public health protection and said, to the WHO, this is one of the greatest accomplishments that a country can achieve.
He said the WHO is willing and ready, in close collaborations with alldevelopment Partners, Non – Government Organizations and the Civil Society, to support the Government to develop regulations as soon as possible, particularly in the prohibitions of smoking in public places; pictorial health warnings on tobacco products; the testing of tobacco and tobacco products; as well as guidelines for treating people addicted to tobacco among others.
The press conference was organized by the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
GNA