Pharmacy owners petition Parliament over NDA

Jan 26, 2018

NDA controls the distribution of drug services by banning the opening up of drug outlets in those areas that are considered sufficiently served.

HEALTH | DRUGS

KAMPALA - Pharmacists have petitioned Parliament demanding for an investigation into National Drug Authority (NDA) accusing the body of abusing its constitutional mandate in regulating operations of pharmacies in the country.

The pharmacists, under their body, Uganda Pharmacy Owners' Association (UPOA) on Thursday met the Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, vented their anger over NDA's recent ban on opening new outlets in Kampala and municipalities in the country on grounds that all the areas are sufficiently served.

"This is not true, we have many municipalities in Uganda that are not sufficiently served," said Deo Kalikumutima, the Association's legal secretary.

According to NDA, the ban is aimed at encouraging investors in pharmaceutical services to spread out to other areas of the country that are currently underserved.

NDA controls the distribution of drug services by banning the opening up of drug outlets in those areas that are considered sufficiently served and levying lower fees from investors that choose to set up outlets in underserved areas.

Pharmacy owners argued that the said ban contravenes NDA's mandate enshrined in the National Drug Authority Act. The Act stipulates that: The National Drug Authority shall ensure that essential, safe, efficacious and cost-effective drugs are made available to the entire population of Uganda to provide satisfactory healthcare.

Petitioners said that for the drug distribution regulator to offer a duo license to operate a wholesale and a retail pharmacy one must recruit two pharmacists, even when both pharmacies are housed in one premise.

This according to the petitioners is unfair and unlawful. The law provides for a pharmacist to supervise a set of pharmacies not one, they argued.

Other grievances the pharmacists told Kadaga include; the move by NDA to double the space requirements for pharmacies holding duo license from the original 25 square metres to 61 square meters.

Petitioners said this had left some operators, especially indigenous operators, out of space as it remains difficult to find enough space.

Petitioners also complained of NDA's failure to regulate the mushrooming illegal trade in drugs shops, saying that it concentrates only on pharmacies, and faulted the Authority for failing to regulate pharmacies housed within hospitals and clinics.

"When you are importing drugs, 12 percent is levied on 55 drugs and URA charges 6 percent on drugs which are supposed to be refundable, but that never happens. Importers transfer this cost to consumers," said Nicholas Mukasa, the association vice chairperson.

The petitioners attributed this to the fact that government does not fund NDA's operational costs.

Kadaga wondered why government was not funding the NDA. "I want to know why NDA is not being funded and why this is being transferred to the public. I am busy fighting for business people to get their space, we shall fight this one as well," Kadaga said.

The Speaker promised to forward the petition to the House committee on health for consideration.
 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});