The Cross River House of Assembly has passed a bill to prohibit quackery in the state’s health sector, curb illegal medical practice and protect residents from unqualified practitioners.

The legislation, sponsored by the deputy leader, Davies Etta, also established a Health Monitoring Task Force to strengthen healthcare regulation statewide.

The bill scaled third reading after lawmakers adopted the report of the House Committee on Health, Nutrition and Food Security during plenary on Wednesday.

Presenting the report, committee chairman Hillary Bisong, who represents Boki 2 state constituency, said the legislation would eliminate unlicensed medical practice and improve healthcare standards.

Mr Bisong said the committee held a public hearing where health professionals, civil society organisations and residents expressed overwhelming support for the proposed law.

He said the bill became necessary because fake practitioners had caused wrong diagnoses, poor treatment, avoidable deaths and eroded public confidence in healthcare services.

According to him, the committee expanded the bill from three parts and 10 sections to four parts and 15 sections to improve its effectiveness.

“Also, enforcement will align with existing national laws regulating medical and allied health professions to ensure seamless implementation,” he said.

Contributing to the debate, lawmakers described the bill as timely, saying it would strengthen healthcare delivery through stricter regulation and improved enforcement.

They noted that recent cases involving unqualified persons performing medical procedures underscored the urgent need to tackle quackery in the health sector.

Speaker of the assembly, Elvert Ayambem, described the legislation as one of the landmark private members’ bills of the 10th assembly and commended its sponsor.

The lawmakers subsequently considered the bill clause by clause in the Committee of the Whole before unanimously adopting the committee’s recommendations.

The lawmakers thereafter passed the bill after its third reading and directed that a clean copy be forwarded to the governor for assent, after which the governor will take the next step.

(NAN)