President ratifies Public Health Bill

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has ratified the Public Health Bill passed by the Parliament.

Following ratification, the Bill has been published in the Government Gazette.

The Bill describes policies on public health protection, institutions which are assigned the responsibility of protecting public health, policies on implementing public health responsibilities, and policies on restricting people’s rights stipulated in the constitution to ensure that public health is protected.

The objectives of the Public Health Act include protecting public health and ensuring that structures are put in place for the institutions responsible for public health issues.

The Public Health Act provides for development of mandatory reporting provisions for infectious diseases to ensure that necessary information is collected for public health interventions and monitoring the health of the public. The Act also stipulates policies to define non-infectious diseases by providing for preventive interventions.

In addition, it also deals with controlling the risk to public health, promoting the control of infectious diseases, preventing the spread of infectious diseases, and recognising the role of island councils, atoll councils and city councils in protecting public health.