The Cancer Prevention and Control (Amendment) Bill , 2023

SPECIALISSUE

Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 69 (National Assembly Bills No. 19)

REPUBLIC OFKENYA

KENYA GAZETTE SUPPLEMENT

NATIONALASSEMBLYBILLS,2023

NAIROBI,19thMay,2023

CONTENT

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THE CANCER PREVENTION AND CONTROL (AMENDMENT)BILL,2023

A Bill for

AN ACT ofParliament to amend the Cancer Prevention and Control Act,and for connected purposes-

ENACTED by the Parliament ofKenya,asfollows

• 1.This Act may be cited as the Cancer Prevention and Control(Amendment) Act,2023.
• 2.The Cancer Prevention and Control Act in this Act referred to as "Principal Act"is amended in section 2 by inserting the following newd definitions inproper alphabetical order-

"e-Health" means the combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector;

"telemedicine"means the provision of health care services and sharing of medical knowledge over distance using telecommunications and it includes consultative, diagnostic, and treatment services;

• 3.The Principal Act is amended in section 5 by inserting the following new paragraphs immediately after
• paragraph (b)-
• "(ba) promote the use of e-health and telemedicine for the prevention and treatment of persons with cancer;
• (bb)
• promote treatment of persons with cancer as a component ofprimary healthcare;

4. The Principal Act is amended in section 31 by inserting the following new sub-section immediately after sub-section (2)-

• "(3) The Institute shall collaborate with the national government department responsible for public health to promote the training of medical oncologists, pediatric oncologists,radiation oncologists, radiation therapy oncologists, oncology nurses, oncology physicists and other healthcare providers."

Short title.

Amendment of section 2 of No.

15of2012.

Amendment of

section 5 of No. 15of2012.

Amendment of section 31of No.15of2012.

MEMORANDUM OF OBJECTSAND REASONS

The principal object of this Bill is to amend the Cancer Prevention and Control Act, 2012 to make provision for training of health cadres in the specialized medical field of oncology, to include cancer treatment as part of the provision of primary healthcare and to incorporate the use of ehealth and telemedicine.

The Bill seeks to amend section 2 of the Principal Act by introducing

new definitions of the terms"e-health"and"telemedicine"

The Bill seeks to amend section 5 of the Principal Act by expanding the scope of functions of the National Cancer Institute to include to

promote the use of e-health and telemedicine in the treatment of cancer

The Bill seeks to amend section 31 of the Principal Act to make provision for promoting the training of health cadres in the specialized

medical field of oncology.

The Bill does not contain any provisions limiting any fundamental rights or freedom.

The Bill affects the functions of county governments as set out in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution and is therefore a Bill concerning county governments.

The enactment of this Bill shall not occasion additional expenditure of public funds.

Dated the16thMay,2023.

SABINA CHEGE, Member of Parliament.

Section 4 of thePrincipal Actwhichit isproposed to amend-

Interpretation.

2 (1) In this Act,unless the context otherwise requires-

"Board"means the Board of Management established by section 6;

"Cabinet Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to public health;

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Board

appointed under section 6;

"Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive

Officerof theInstitute appointed under section 10;

"Institute" means the National Cancer Institute of

Kenya established by section 4;

"medical institution"means a hospital,clinic, dispensary or other place where a diagnosis of cancer is made and includes a medical practitioner practising in his

orher own name;

"medical practitioner"has the meaning assigned to it

under the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act (Cap. 253);

"person with cancer"means a person diagnosed as

having cancer;

"register" means the national cancerregister

established under section 20

• (2) For the period prior to the announcement of the results of the first elections of Parliament as contemplated by section 2 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, reference to a "Cabinet Secretary"in this Act shall be deemed to be reference to a CabinetMinister and reference to a Principal Secretary shall be deemed to be a reference to a Permanent Secretary.

Section 5 of thePrincipal Actwhich it is proposed to amend-

Functions of the Institute.

• 5.The functions of the Institute shall be to-
• (a) advise the Cabinet Secretary on matters relating to the treatment and care of persons with cancer and

to advise on the relative priorities to be given to the implementation of specific measures;

• (b) encourage and secure theestablishmentof hospitals,vocational treatment and care centres and other institutions for the welfare and treatment of persons with cancer in all counties of the
• Republic;
• (c) encourage and secure provision of diagnostic, treatment,rehabilitation and other medical care to persons with cancer in those institutions;
• (d) co-ordinate services provided in Kenya for the welfare and treatmentofpersons with cancer and to implement programmes for vocational guidance and counseling;
• (e) collect, analyze and disseminate all data useful in the prevention,diagnosis and treatment of cancer;
• (f) collaborate with international institutions for the purpose of collecting for the Register and cataloging,storing and disseminating the results of cancer research undertaken in any country for the use of any person involved in cancer research in
• any country;
• (g) establish and support the large scale production or distribution of specialized biological materials and other therapeutic substances for research and set standards of safety and care for persons using such materials;
• (h) ensure that accurate figures of persons with cancer are obtained in the country for purposes of planning;
• (i) provide access to available information and technical assistancetoall institutions, associations and organizations concerned with the welfare and treatment of persons with cancer, including those controlled and managed by the
• Government;
• encourage and secure the care of persons with cancerwithin their communities andsocial environment;

• (k) establish and support measures that seek to eradicate conditions that cause and aggravate the spread ofcancer.
• recommend measures to prevent discrimination against persons with cancer;
• (m)generally to carry out measures for public information on the rights of persons with cancer and the provisions of this Act;and
• (n) encourage and participate in the provision of
• training on cancer prevention and control.

Section 31 of the Principal Actwhich it isproposed to amend-

Cancer prevention and control to form part of health care.

• 31.(1) The Institute shall liaise with the national government department responsible for public health to ensure that education and information dissemination on the prevention and treatment of cancer and the care of persons with cancer including palliative care, shall form part of health care services by healthcare providers.

Charges.

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the national government department responsible for public health in collaboration with the Institute shall provide training for the healthcare providers to acquire skills for proper information dissemination and education on cancer prevention control and palliative care.