Bill 57.

Summary.

The bill amends Article 11 of Law 17 of June 27, 2016, which establishes protection for Indigenous traditional medicine knowledge. The proposed provision addresses incentives relating to that medicine and remuneration for traditional midwives. Art. 1 sets out the replacement wording for Article 11 of the existing law. Art. 2 identifies the same article again as the provision being amended. The bill’s operative change is therefore directed at the article governing these matters within Law 17 of June 27, 2016.

Under the proposed Article 11, the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) and the Directorate of Indigenous Health Affairs (Dirección de Asuntos Sanitarios Indígenas) would establish incentives. Their stated purpose is to encourage the collective practice of traditional medicine, together with its promotion and research. The bill thus connects the work of both public bodies to three aspects of the same field: collective practice, activities that promote traditional medicine, and research concerning it. The provision places responsibility for establishing those incentives with the two named bodies as part of the amendment to the existing law.

The same article sets out a specific rule for traditional midwives. It proposes that they receive monthly remuneration. The form and amount of that remuneration would be defined in regulatory provisions. The Ministry of Health would develop those provisions for the purposes described in the article. In this way, the proposed text establishes the monthly payment while assigning the definition of its form and amount to the specified regulatory process. The provision concerning midwives appears alongside the incentives for traditional medicine in the proposed wording of Article 11.

Art. 2 states that the bill amends Article 11 of Law 17 of June 27, 2016. Art. 3 provides that the proposed law would take effect on the day after its promulgation. These provisions identify the article affected by the bill and the point at which the amendment would begin to operate if promulgated. Together with Art. 1, they set out the bill’s amendment and commencement rule. The articles make no further amendment to another provision.

The public bodies connected with the bill’s subject matter are the Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Indigenous Health Affairs. The related statute is Law 17 of June 27, 2016. Its content could be of interest to or affect traditional midwives, people involved in the collective practice of Indigenous traditional medicine, and those engaged in its promotion or research.