NCDC Opposes Bill To Create New Public Health Institute

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has opposed a proposed bill seeking to establish a National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases, warning that creating another federal public health agency with similar responsibilities could weaken Nigeria’s disease surveillance and emergency response system.

Director-General of the NCDC, Dr. Jide Idris, made the agency’s position known on Thursday during a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Infectious Diseases on the National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases (Establishment) Bill, 2025.

While acknowledging the need to strengthen Nigeria’s public health security architecture, Idris argued that the proposed institute would duplicate responsibilities already assigned to the NCDC under its enabling law and could create conflicts over leadership and accountability during public health emergencies.

“The core responsibilities proposed for the new institute are substantially the same as those currently assigned to the NCDC,” Idris told lawmakers.

He warned that the bill raises “serious concerns over duplication of mandates, institutional overlap, governance conflicts and fiscal sustainability.”

Established by an Act of Parliament in 2018, the NCDC serves as Nigeria’s national public health institute and is responsible for disease surveillance, outbreak detection and response, laboratory coordination, emergency preparedness, public health research, workforce development and implementation of the International Health Regulations.

According to Idris, effective management of disease outbreaks requires a clear chain of command and coordinated response mechanisms, adding that establishing another institution with overlapping functions could undermine efficiency during public health emergencies.

He noted that the proposed legislation designates the new institute as Nigeria’s National Focal Point for the International Health Regulations and empowers it to coordinate responses to infectious disease outbreaks—roles currently assigned to the NCDC and recognised internationally.

“Creating another federal institution with overlapping responsibilities would generate uncertainty over leadership, accountability and operational command during disease outbreaks,” he said.

The NCDC boss cited Nigeria’s management of major disease outbreaks, including Ebola, COVID-19, Lassa fever, cholera, meningitis, diphtheria and Mpox, as evidence that the country’s public health system has evolved around a unified command structure.

Beyond concerns about overlapping mandates, Idris also questioned the financial implications of establishing a new institution with its own headquarters, zonal offices, governing council and workforce at a time of competing national priorities.

He expressed reservations over proposals to fund the institute through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, warning that such an arrangement could place additional pressure on resources already earmarked for essential healthcare services.

According to him, the federal government has invested heavily over the years in strengthening the NCDC’s laboratory network, surveillance systems, emergency operations centres, genomic sequencing capacity and outbreak response infrastructure.

He argued that creating another agency with similar responsibilities would duplicate existing investments and run contrary to ongoing efforts aimed at streamlining public institutions and improving efficiency.

The NCDC therefore urged lawmakers to focus on strengthening existing public health structures and review provisions of the bill that seek to establish what it described as a parallel public health command framework.

Idris disclosed that the agency had submitted a detailed clause-by-clause analysis to the National Assembly, identifying areas where the proposed legislation conflicts with provisions of the NCDC Act, 2018.

“The issue before us is not whether Nigeria should strengthen its public health capacity. The question is whether that objective is best achieved by strengthening the National Public Health Institute already established by law or by creating another institution with substantially overlapping responsibilities,” he said.

However, lawmakers backing the bill argued that the proposed institute would improve Nigeria’s preparedness for future epidemics and emerging public health threats.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, described the proposed institute as a strategic investment in national health security.

Represented by Bashir Zubair at the hearing, Abbas said Nigeria’s experiences during the Ebola outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic and recurring outbreaks of Lassa fever exposed weaknesses in the country’s healthcare system and underscored the need for stronger institutions.

“A country of Nigeria’s population and strategic importance can no longer afford a reactive approach to disease outbreaks,” Abbas said.

Chairman of the House Committee on Infectious Diseases, Amobi Ogah, said the bill was partly inspired by findings from an oversight visit to the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Training Centre in Saye, Zaria, Kaduna State, where lawmakers identified significant but underutilised human and infrastructural capacity.

Ogah disclosed that the Presidency had already approved the upgrade of the facility into a public health institute and expressed optimism that the legislation would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to prevent, diagnose and manage infectious diseases.

The public hearing also considered the Tuberculosis Anti-Discrimination Bill, which seeks to protect persons living with tuberculosis from stigma and discrimination while encouraging early diagnosis and treatment.