Health Ministry, WHO partner to strengthen tobacco control measures

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has held a bilateral meeting with the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen Kenya’s response to the growing public health threat posed by tobacco use.

The meeting, held at Afya House in Nairobi, focused on advancing Kenya’s tobacco control efforts and aligning national regulations with emerging global standards. Discussions centred on mechanisms to track the proposed amendments to the Tobacco Control Bill.

“These amendments aim to modernise Kenya’s legal framework to more effectively govern the production, sale, advertising, and consumption of tobacco products,” CS Duale said.

WHO affirmed its support for strengthening national laboratory capacity for the independent verification of tobacco products.

Hon. Duale briefed the delegation on Kenya’s progress in tobacco control and sought WHO’s technical support in initiating a structured review of the Tobacco Control Act (2007) and its Regulations. He highlighted the successful transition of over 9,000 farmers from tobacco to alternative crops such as high-iron beans.

He further called for collaboration in scaling up enforcement at the county level through updated inspection protocols, local capacity building, enhanced cessation services, and the integration of tobacco control into the Ministry’s expanding digital health superhighway.

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The Cabinet Secretary underscored Kenya’s unwavering commitment to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), stating the government’s constitutional responsibility to safeguard the right to the highest attainable standard of health.

Hon. Duale was joined by the Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards, Ms Mary Muthoni, Director-General for Health, Dr Patrick Amoth, Dr Vinayak Prasad, and senior officials from both the Ministry of Health and WHO.