NDA petitions court over expired drugs
Defence. Ms Donna Kusemererwa, the NDA executive director. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- “The applicant has been crippled by a repeal of Section 93 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act 2015; the section repealed section 60(1)(b and c) of the National Drug Policy and Authority Act Cap 206 that gave the applicant power to destroy or dispose of the said drugs thus this application,” Ms Kusemererwa adds.
Kampala. The National Drug Authority (NDA) has petitioned the High Court, seeking an order to destroy expired drugs.
In their petition filed yesterday, the Authority claims that on several occasions between 2016 and 2017, they impounded drugs that were illegally brought into the country, which have since been abandoned by the owners.
In a sworn affidavit, Ms Donna Kusemererwa, the NDA executive director, says it is the responsibility of the authority to ensure appropriate use of drugs.
“We carry out inspection and verification of all drugs imported into Uganda and its mandate to ensure that drugs that are imported are efficacious, safe and of good quality,” Ms Kusemererwa says.
She adds that the abandoned drugs are expired and no longer fit for clinical use thus the need for their disposal or destruction by NDA, which she said no longer has space to store them.
“The applicant has been crippled by a repeal of Section 93 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act 2015; the section repealed section 60(1)(b and c) of the National Drug Policy and Authority Act Cap 206 that gave the applicant power to destroy or dispose of the said drugs thus this application,” Ms Kusemererwa adds.
She contends that they have requested the Ministry of Internal Affairs to initiate the amendment of the above act to enable NDA ban the drugs.
jkigongo@ug,nationmedia.com
