NCDC, Others Faulted Over Opposition To Infectious Diseases Institute’s Bill

Acting chief executive officer of the proposed National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases (NIPHID), Zaria, Dr Dalhatu Aminu, has dismissed opposition to the institute’s establishment bill by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society (NIDS) and the Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC).

Aminu said the criticisms were based on a misreading of the bill before the National Assembly.

Briefing reporters in Zaria yesterday, Aminu said the three organisations had opposed provisions that do not exist in the current version of the bill sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen.

He said the bill does not create a parallel public health agency or duplicate the NCDC’s statutory functions as alleged by its critics.

Aminu said the proposed institute was designed as a specialist tertiary institution focusing on infectious disease clinical care, postgraduate training and advanced research, while complementing the NCDC’s responsibilities in disease surveillance, outbreak response and national coordination.

“The opposition is based on a fundamental misreading of the bill. The organisations appear to have analysed an earlier, superseded draft or an entirely different document,” the Acting Chief Executive Officer said.

The Acting Chief Executive Officer cited Section 21 of the bill, which expressly provides that the institute “shall not duplicate the statutory public health surveillance, outbreak response, or national coordination functions of the NCDC.”

Aminu added that the same section mandates collaboration between the institute and the NCDC for training, joint research, and support for outbreak investigations upon request. He also rejected claims that the bill designates the institute as Nigeria’s International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point, saying no such provision exists in the legislation.

He further dismissed assertions that the institute would establish zonal offices across the country, noting that the bill only provides for its headquarters in Zaria and allows collaborative training and research units where necessary.

According to the Acting Chief Executive Officer, the institute is an upgrade of the existing National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Training Centre, Zaria, with over six decades of experience, and will inherit its staff, facilities and infrastructure rather than creating an entirely new bureaucracy.

Aminu maintained that the institute would strengthen Nigeria’s health security by expanding specialist infectious disease care, building research capacity and training the next generation of infectious disease experts.

The Acting Chief Executive Officer also defended the funding proposal for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), describing the allocation as modest and necessary to strengthen specialist healthcare, research, and workforce development.

Responding specifically to the NCDC, the Acting Chief Executive Officer referenced the position earlier presented by the agency’s Director-General, Dr Jide Idris, during the House public hearing.

Idris had warned that the bill, as presented to the National Assembly, contained provisions that appeared to overlap with the NCDC’s statutory responsibilities.

He argued that several clauses seemed to have been copied almost verbatim from the NCDC Act, 2018. He cautioned that establishing another institution with similar mandates could create duplication, institutional conflicts, and weaken Nigeria’s coordinated public health emergency response architecture.

However, the Acting Chief Executive Officer challenged that position, saying a careful reading of the bill showed no provision empowering the institute to coordinate outbreaks, conduct national disease surveillance, serve as the country’s IHR National Focal Point or exercise regulatory authority.

The Acting Chief Executive Officer called on the NCDC to publish its promised clause-by-clause analysis of the bill to enable objective public scrutiny.

The Acting Chief Executive Officer also urged the NCDC, NIDS and HSRC to review the authentic version of the legislation, withdraw their opposition and engage constructively with the sponsors to address any legitimate concerns.

“Nigeria needs a strong NCDC. It also needs strong clinical, training and research institutions to support the NCDC. The proposed National Institute for Public Health and Infectious Diseases is intended to complement—not compete with—the NCDC,” the Acting Chief Executive Officer said.