NCDC rejects public health institute bill

By Ojoma Akor

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has expressed concern over the proposed establishment of the National Institute of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Zaria (Establishment Bill, 2025 (HB 2629).

The Director General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, raised the concern during a public hearing on the institute in Abuja.

He said Nigeria already has a legally established National Public Health Institute in the NCDC, adding that the proposed Institute, as presented, substantially duplicates existing statutory functions.

He said, “Nigeria already has a national public health institute. However, HB 2629 in its current form attempts to create a parallel National Public Health Institute. Nigeria already has a globally recognized, fully functional statutory body for this exact purpose: the NCDC, established under the NCDC (Establishment) Act, 2018 (as amended).

“The NCDC was established by an Act of the National Assembly as Nigeria’s National Public Health Institute. Its statutory mandate includes disease surveillance, outbreak detection and response, laboratory coordination, emergency preparedness, implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR), public health research, workforce development, and coordination of national responses to epidemics and pandemics. These are the same core functions proposed for the new institute.”

He said the bill therefore raises significant concerns regarding duplication of mandates, institutional overlap, governance conflicts, and fiscal sustainability.

He highlighted that the bill may create institutional conflicts, governance challenges, and avoidable financial burdens.

He said, “It also conflicts with existing national and international obligations. Such duplication risks creating confusion for states, development partners, and international organizations that currently engage through established national public health structures. ”

He also said national health security will be better served by strengthening existing structures rather than establishing parallel institutions.

Dr Idris said the bill proposes a headquarters, zonal structures, state offices, governing bodies, and extensive staffing arrangements, noting that establishing and sustaining these structures will require substantial recurrent and capital expenditure.

He said, “Creation of a parallel institution will weaken coordination. Public health emergencies require a single, clearly recognized national authority. Establishing another federal institution with overlapping responsibilities will create uncertainty regarding leadership, accountability, and operational command during outbreaks and health emergencies.

“Questions will inevitably arise regarding which institution leads surveillance, coordinates response activities, manages laboratory networks, or serves as Nigeria’s official public health authority. ”

He added that available resources should be invested in expanding surveillance systems, laboratory capacity, workforce development, emergency preparedness, and state-level public health capacity through existing national mechanisms.

He further said that globally, countries maintain a single national public health institute responsible for disease surveillance, preparedness, and response. This model promotes clarity of authority, accountability, efficiency, and effective emergency coordination.

Nigeria adopted this same model through the establishment of the NCDC, he said.

He also raised concerns regarding the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), adding that the proposal to allocate a portion of the BHCPF  to the new institute would create an additional claim on an already constrained funding mechanism. This may further dilute resources available for existing health priorities and institutions.

According to him, “To assist the committee in its clause-by-clause review, the NCDC has mapped every direct statutory conflict between HB 2629 and the NCDC Act 2018. This was submitted along with our memoranda as requested.  Notably, many of the clauses appeared to be copied verbatim from the NCDC Act. ”