Somali gov't to
establish national health standards institution
(mugadisho, Feb 03, 2012 Ceegaag Online)
Somalia's Ministry of
Health on Tuesday announced its plan to create the
national health standards agency "to raise the
standard of health and medicine in the country," a
statement said.
The local health infrastructures in Somalia have
been destroyed by more than two decades of civil
war in the horn of Africa nation, making control
of health standards non-existent.
The ministry said it intends to enforce all the
existing health and safety regulations and issuing
new ones as required.
"There is an acute problem of sub-standard or
out-of-date medicine being sold to our citizens,
who are unaware of the danger to their health and
life that this dangerous medicine can cause,"
Minister of Health and Human Services Abdiaziz
Sheikh Yusuf said in the statement.
"We are determined that this should no longer
continue and are in the process of taking all the
necessary steps to put an end to it in the
shortest possible time," the minister added.
The Somali Health Ministry said the main task of
the National Health Standards Institution will be
to "ensure the quality control of all the medicine
imported into the country."
Somalia has been without a strong central
government for the past 20 years during which the
standards of health services and drugs remained
unchecked.
