Mazhilis approves biosafety bill

The Mazhilis, the Lower House of the Kazakh Parliament, approved a bill on biological safety. Previously, experts presented it to all representatives of interested bodies, leading laboratories and research centers, and also held two extended meetings of the Committee. To bring all the norms of the law in line, the document was edited a significant number of times. Among the innovations: the authorized bodies in the field of sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population will now be granted the powers to develop and approve qualification requirements for handling pathogenic biological agents. Also, according to the new bill, the state registration of medicines and medical devices that is intended for use when responding to biological threats will be carried out expeditiously. Amendments and additions were made to 14 legislative acts.

“For the first time, Kazakhstan is introducing the law on biological safety. It consists of 32 articles and eight chapters. The main goal of the law is to protect the population from biological threats. For example, we have long had historical places where plague, malaria and other dangerous diseases once spread. There are diseases that break out from fire, from water or transmitted through the air, animals, or even through the imported goods. This law was created to protect the population from all this,” said Darkhan Mynbai, Member of Mazhilis.

Translation by Saule Mukhamejanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova