Cancer Prevention and Control Act

The Act is titled the Cancer Prevention and Control Act, 2012 and comes into operation on a date the Cabinet Secretary appoints by notice in the Gazette, which must not be later than ninety days from publication.

Section 2 provides definitions for terms used in the Act, including Board, Cabinet Secretary (for public health), Chairperson, Chief Executive Officer, Institute, medical institution, medical practitioner, person with cancer, and register.

Promote public awareness about the causes, consequences, and means of prevention and control of cancer.

The Board must determine (subject) upon the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The Institute may appoint officers and other staff as necessary for performing its functions, on terms and conditions it determines.

The Board may delegate, by resolution, powers or functions of the Institute to committees or to members, officers, employees or agents of the Institute.

Members of the Board and officers, employees, agents or servants of the Board are not personally liable for acts or omissions done bona-fide in executing functions, powers or duties under the Act.

The Board must keep and control the Institute's common seal and it may only be used on the Board's order; affixing the seal must be authenticated by the Chairperson and the Chief Executive Officer, except that the Board may nominate a member to act in the absence of either; a duly authenticated sealed document is judicially and officially noticed unless proved otherwise.

Sets out sources of the Institute's funds (grants, fees, other lawful sources, parliamentary appropriation) and states that the Institute's funds and year-end balances shall not be paid into the Consolidated Fund but retained for the Institute's purposes.

The Institute's financial year is the twelve-month period ending on 30 June each year.

The Board must prepare annual revenue and expenditure estimates at least three months before each financial year, approve them before the year starts, submit them to the Cabinet Secretary for approval, and must not increase them after Cabinet Secretary approval without that Secretary’s consent.

The Board must ensure that proper books and records of the Institute's income, expenditure and assets are kept.

The Board may invest any of the Institute's funds in certain securities or banks, and the Treasury may approve other securities or banks from time to time.

Establishes a body called the National Cancer Institute of Kenya.

The Institute (theInstitute) is described as having a function to advise the Cabinet Secretary on cancer treatment and care and on priorities for implementing specific measures.

The Institute is to be administered by a Board of Trustees; the section lists who comprises the Board and sets qualifications for appointment to subsection (2)(a).

The Board's conduct and regulation of its business and affairs must follow the Schedule; except as provided in the Schedule, the Board may regulate its own procedure.

The Board has all powers necessary to perform its functions and specific powers (manage assets, set expenditure provisions, receive funds, open accounts, invest funds per section 19, create directorates/centres, and undertake activities). The Institute must decentralize services to all counties.

The Board must pay its members and staff remuneration or allowances as it determines, based on advice from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The Institute must keep and maintain a national cancer register; the Chief Executive Officer must enter particulars and changes promptly after notification; the Chief Executive Officer may supply copies of register entries for a fee prescribed by the Board.

Medical institutions must notify the Institute after diagnosing cancer, in a prescribed form with specified content, not disclosing the patient's name without consent, and the notification must be given within sixty days; contravention is an offence.

The Board may direct correction of any incorrectly or fraudulently made entry.

The section lists actions that constitute discrimination in the workplace on the ground of being a person with cancer, including denying access to employment, transfer, denial of promotion, termination, and various employment-related matters such as advertising, recruitment, pay, benefits, training, and facilities.

Educational institutions must not discriminate in schools by denying admission, expelling, disciplining, segregating, denying participation in events or activities, or denying benefits or services to a person solely because they are actual or perceived to have cancer.

A person may not be denied the right to seek an elective or other public office solely because they are, or are perceived to be, a person with cancer.

People cannot be forced to undergo cancer screening or disclose cancer status solely to access credit, loans, or insurance; insurers must set a reasonable no-disclosure cover limit for life and healthcare insurance.

Health institutions must not deny a person access to healthcare services or charge them a higher fee on the grounds that the person is, or is perceived to be, a person with cancer.

A person who contravenes any provision of this Part commits an offence.

The national government must run a nationwide education and information campaign on cancer, collaborating with the Institute and using relevant departments, authorities and agencies.

The Institute must work with the national education department to integrate cancer prevention, treatment and palliative care instruction into syllabuses at all education levels and must, with that department, develop and implement a training curriculum on prevention, treatment and care of persons with cancer for all levels.

The Institute must work with the national government health department to ensure that education and information on cancer prevention, treatment and palliative care form part of health care services; the national health department together with the Institute must provide training to healthcare providers.

Every county government must, in collaboration with the Institute, conduct an educational and information campaign on cancer prevention, treatment and control within its area of jurisdiction.

Every city or urban area, in collaboration with the Institute, must conduct an educational and information campaign on cancer prevention, treatment and control within its area of jurisdiction.

When consent is sought under subsection (1), the person whose consent is sought must be adequately informed of the aims, methods, anticipated benefits and the potential hazards and discomforts of the research.

A person convicted of an offence under the Act for which no other penalty is provided is liable to a fine up to two hundred thousand shillings, or imprisonment for up to two years, or both.

The Cabinet Secretary may make rules on the recommendation of the Institute to carry out the Institute's functions; the rules shall prescribe anything required by the Act; and for the first Board appointments the Cabinet Secretary shall prescribe the procedures even if the Institute is absent.