A Critique of the Law and Practice On Protection of Consumer's of Pharmaceutical Products in Uganda

NABUSHA WO JOSEPHINE 54 PAGES (16445 WORDS) Law Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLAR'\ TION ............................................................................................................................. i

APPROVAL ................................................................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii

A\.'I(NOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................. iv

GeNERAL INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... I

I. I Backgmund of the study ....................................................................................................... I

I .2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 3

I .3 Objectives of the study .......................................................................................................... 4

I .3.1 General Objective ............................................................................................................... 4

1.3.3 Specific Objective .............................................................................................................. 4

1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 4

1.5 Scope of the study ................................................................................................................. 5

I .5. I Geographical Scope ............................................................................................................ 5

1.5.2 Content Scope .................................................................................................................... 5

1.5.3 I ime Scope ......................................................................................................................... 5

1.6 Significance of the study ....................................................................................................... 5

1.7 Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 5

I. 7.3 Challenges to consumer protection .................................................................................. I I

I .8 Mct hodology ....................................................................................................................... I 2

1.9 Organization Layout.. .......................................................................................................... 12

CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 13

INTERNATIONAL. CONTINENTAL. REGIONAL PROVISIONS ON CONSUMER

PROTECTION OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS ............................................................ 13

2.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... I 3

2.1 International instruments ..................................................................................................... I 3

2.2 Continental convention' on protection of consumers of pharmaceutical products ............. I 6

2.3 East Afi·ican community on protection of consumers of pharmaceutical products ............ 19

2.4 The east African community competition act, 2006 ........................................................... 19

Cl !APTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 2 I

LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ON CONSUMER ....................................... 21

v

PROTECTION OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS IN UGANDA .................................... 21

3.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 21

3 .I Legal framework on consumer protection of pharmaceutical products .............................. 21

3.2 Institutional Ji·amework ....................................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 28

PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETTION OF INFORMATION ............................................ 28

4.0 lntrmluction ......................................................................................................................... 28

-f. I Legal provisions on consumer protection of pharmaceutical products in Uganda ............. 28

~.2 El'll:ct ofconll·ibutions of the Food and Drugs Act and National drug policy and Act on

consumer protection of pharmaceutical products ...................................................................... 31

-\.3 Lcttal challenges to consumer institutional framework on protection of pharmaceutical

products in Uganda .................................................................................................................... 33

4.4 Recommendations on how the challenges of consumer protection can be dealt with ........ 36

CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................................... 40

c,l 'Ml\1;\RY. CONCUJSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................... 40

5.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 40

5.1 Summary of the findings ..................................................................................................... 40

5.2 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 42

5.3 Recummendations ............................................................................................................... 43

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 44  

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 B:tekground of the o;tudy Consumer protection is a general concept that involves protecting people ti·om buying things and services that are unsafe or fraudulent. Consumer protection is one of the major social policies promoted by any modern state 1 • Because of the importance it represents for the contemporary ecc•nom). it is an independent policy. with own objectives, priorities and tools. The speed which events follow each other today is increasingly. That's why consumerism is expanding more and more too all the sub-branches of the economy. In this way, the scope and action of consumer prdtection is extremely large, reaching all the economic sectors2 . Protection of consumers of phannaceutical products means the attempts to protect the people or consumers that are charged with the responsibility of consuming the pharmaceutical products that !hi! in the human and non human phannaceutica! products. In Uganda, legal provisions exist for controlling the pharmaceutical marketJ Laboratory exists in Uganda tor quality control testing". However, the NDA also contracts services elsewhere. This is done tor microbiological, public health and herbal product testing. The protection of the consumer of pharmaceutical iJI'-'duc:, ;,: undertaken based on the legal attributes that countries establish in the management of tile country tor the regulations of the pharmaceuticals in the country.