SOUTH AFRICA鈥橲 Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, advocates a diet of garlic and vitamins to combat the spread of HIV. She may soon get her way, if the country鈥檚 parliament votes for a draft bill that will abolish South Africa鈥檚 independent drug approval body.
The Medicines Control Council (MCC), established in 1965, approves all new drugs 鈥� from anti-fungals to sexual performance enhancers. Although the minister of health appoints its officers and 146 volunteer scientists, the body reports directly to parliament.
The MCC has a track record of clashing with health ministers. In 2000, it blocked human testing of virodene, a toxic industrial solvent promoted by a former health minister as an AIDS treatment. More recently, the MCC鈥檚 approval of nevirapine, an anti-retroviral which halves HIV transmission rates in breastfeeding mothers, was used to overturn Tshabalala-Msimang鈥檚 attempts to ban the drug.
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Under the new bill, the council would no longer exist. Instead, scientists employed by the Department of Health would certify the quality, safety and efficacy of a drug, but only the health minister could approve its use.
Advocacy groups say this could endanger the health of South Africans. 鈥淪he might decide not to register a medicine that has been proven or to provide exemptions for quacks,鈥� says Nathan Geffen of the Treatment Action Campaign, which last month prosecuted an entrepreneur who blanketed small towns with pamphlets advertising vitamins as a treatment for AIDS.
鈥淭here are powers a minister of health should not have,鈥� agrees Jonathan Berger of the AIDS Law Project in Johannesburg. With elections in South Africa next year, officials could abuse these powers to curry favour with traditional healers and alternative medicine groups.
鈥淥fficials could abuse these powers to curry favour with traditional healers and alternative medicine groups鈥�
Proponents of Tshabalala-Msimang鈥檚 bill argue that the MCC is slow and lacks accountability. 鈥淭here have been complaints about its efficiency,鈥� says Thami Mseleku, director-general of the Department of Health. In two weeks, parliament will decide whether to vote on the bill in its current form.
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