TANZANIA WEIGHS IN ON EAC MEDICAL PRODUCTS BILL AS LUKUMAY JOINS EALA CONSULTATIONS
By Joseph Ngilisho | DODOMA
TANZANIA has submitted its views on the East African Community (EAC) Medical Products Bill, 2025, which seeks to establish a harmonised regional framework for the regulation of medicines and other medical products across EAC partner states.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and HIV/AIDS, Dr Johannes Lembulung Lukumay, on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, participated in consultations convened by the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) Committee on General Purpose in Dodoma.
The two-day consultations, which began on August 17 and concluded on Tuesday, brought together key stakeholders to deliberate on Tanzania’s position and gather views on the proposed legislation before it proceeds to subsequent stages of the EAC legislative process.
The proposed law is designed to strengthen regional cooperation and harmonise regulatory systems governing medical products, with the ultimate objective of improving access to safe, effective and quality-assured medicines across the East African Community.
Among other provisions, the Bill seeks to promote the availability of essential medicines, strengthen standards governing the quality and safety of medical products and create a more conducive environment for pharmaceutical manufacturing within the region.
It also proposes greater harmonisation of systems for the registration, monitoring and regulation of medical products, while strengthening mechanisms to combat substandard and falsified medicines that pose a serious threat to public health and safety.
Tanzania’s participation in the consultations is expected to provide an opportunity for the country to articulate its national priorities and ensure they are adequately reflected in the emerging regional regulatory framework.
The process is particularly significant as EAC partner states seek to strike a balance between deeper regional integration and the specific regulatory, industrial and public health needs of individual countries.
For Tanzania, harmonisation of medical products regulation could also support the expansion of pharmaceutical manufacturing within the region, improve the availability of essential medicines and strengthen mechanisms for ensuring the quality and safety of products used in healthcare delivery.
The consultations form part of the broader stakeholder-engagement process preceding further consideration of the EAC Medical Products Bill, 2025, as it advances through the Community’s legislative and institutional procedures.
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