The parliamentary commission for social sectors is preparing to approve a bill on the creation of the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products.
In this regard, parliamentary sources revealed to MoroccoLatestNews that the social sectors committee in the House of Representatives ended last Wednesday the discussion of the bill relating to the creation of the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products. , thus setting the deadline for making amendments to it by next Monday.
According to MoroccoLatestNews sources, last Wednesday’s session saw a detailed discussion on the draft articles, as the Minister of Health and Welfare, Khalid Ait Taleb, underlined the importance of this law, which aims to give some governance to the sector.
Thus, the Minister of Health indicated that the Agency will make it possible to put in place the priorities of the pharmaceutical policy in Morocco, noting that priority will be given to the drugs which the citizens need in the first place.
Also, the government official indicated that Morocco must set its priorities in terms of medicines, in particular those for chronic diseases, stressing that the Agency which will be created will be responsible for defining and updating the list of medicines according to the national needs.
It is expected that this Agency will carry out coordination missions in the development of the national drug policy, and will contribute to its implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and will ensure the regulation and control of the drug and pharmaceutical products sector. health.
It will ensure, within the limits of its powers, the availability of and access to medicines and health products, while ensuring their quality, safety and effectiveness, in addition to the analysis of health risks in the field of medicines and health products.
The same agency will also ensure compliance with legislative and regulatory texts relating to medicines and health products, in particular those relating to their manufacture, import, export, distribution and marketing, in addition to proposing the sale price of medicines in accordance with the legislation in force. vigor.
A parliamentary source told MoroccoLatestNews that the discussion of parliamentarians on this project revolved mainly around the need to provide the Agency with the necessary capacities to control the sector, and to find a solution to the problem of the high cost of drugs, indicating that the parliamentary teams will present amendments in this respect.
The same source warned that the Covid-19 experience showed the need for Morocco to develop a strategic plan that would guarantee the availability of medicines and health products and make them accessible to citizens at affordable prices, concluding that the Agency’s project responds to royal directives, as well as the implementation of recommendations from previous parliamentary reports.
It is expected that the Agency will be managed by a board of directors and headed by a director. The Board of Directors will be made up of representatives of the administration and personalities recognized for their competence and their scientific, technical or legal experience in the field of medicines and health products.
As soon as this law comes into force, the archives, documents and files of the Department of Medicines and Pharmacy (DMP) at the Ministry of Health will be transferred to this institution, which will also replace the State in all its rights and obligations related to contracts and all contracts entered into by the DMP.