Dr Emmanuel Agogo, an international global health consultant, has warned that proposed legislation seeking to establish a National Institute of Public Health could create overlapping mandates with existing institutions.
Agogo observed that such overlapping has the potential of weakening Nigeria’s disease surveillance and emergency response system.
Agogo, who is also a public health expert, expressed the concern in Abuja on Friday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while commenting on draft legislation before the National Assembly seeking to establish a National Institute of Public Health in Zaria.
According to him, Nigeria’s disease control and public health governance framework is at a critical point, requiring reforms that strengthen existing institutions rather than create parallel agencies with similar statutory responsibilities.
He said his independent review covered the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Act of 1977, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) Act of 2018, and two draft bills proposing different institutional models for the Zaria-based institute.
Agogo said one of the draft bills sought to transform the historic infectious disease facility in Zaria into a specialist research and treatment hospital, while another substantially replicated provisions contained in the NCDC Act.
He argued that the latter could duplicate functions relating to disease surveillance, epidemic preparedness, laboratory coordination and public health emergency management.
According to him, such overlap could create uncertainty over institutional leadership during disease outbreaks and weaken coordination among federal public health agencies.
Agogo also expressed concern that provisions in the proposed legislation could create ambiguity over Nigeria’s obligations under the World Health Organisation’s International Health Regulations (2005), which require countries to maintain a single National IHR Focal Point for official communication during public health emergencies.
He further questioned aspects of the proposed funding framework, saying overlapping statutory provisions relating to the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) could result in competing claims for resources earmarked for emergency preparedness and response.
“The goal should be to strengthen Nigeria’s health security architecture through clear institutional mandates and better coordination, rather than creating agencies with overlapping responsibilities,” he said.
He recommended that lawmakers consider restructuring the proposal by establishing a specialised infectious diseases research hospital under the Federal Ministry of Health or integrating the Zaria facility into the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research as a northern centre for advanced infectious disease research.
He said either option would strengthen national research capacity while avoiding duplication of governance structures and administrative costs.
NAN reports that the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), established under the NIMR Act of 1977, serves as Nigeria’s premier biomedical research institution, conducting research on diseases of public health importance and supporting evidence generation for health policy.
In 2018, the National Assembly enacted the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) Act, giving the agency legal responsibility for national disease surveillance, outbreak detection, emergency preparedness and coordination of responses to infectious disease threats.
The current legislative debate centres on proposals to establish a National Institute of Public Health in Zaria, with supporters arguing that Nigeria requires additional capacity for public health research, training and specialised infectious disease management.
However, some public health experts have raised concerns that aspects of the proposed legislation may overlap with responsibilities already assigned to existing federal institutions, particularly the NCDC.
The debate comes as Nigeria continues efforts to strengthen its health security system following lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and recurring outbreaks of diseases including Lassa fever, cholera, diphtheria and mpox.
Stakeholders said any reforms to the country’s public health architecture should improve coordination, enhance research capacity and ensure efficient use of public resources while avoiding duplication of statutory mandates.(NAN)
