Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
NCDC
About
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) is the national public health institute for Nigeria. It is a federal government agency under the Federal Ministry of Health, with its headquarters in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory. The agency works to protect Nigerians from communicable diseases by coordinating public health preparedness, surveillance, laboratory and response functions for all infectious diseases. It also handles the prevention and control of diseases of public health importance, including emergency preparedness, detection and response, research, training, knowledge management and health promotion. It serves as Nigeria's International Health Regulations National Focal Point and is a member of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes.
History
The NCDC was established in 2011, following a mandate from the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, to integrate specific units of the Ministry as the foundation of the agency: the Epidemiology Division, the Avian Influenza Project, and the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program. The request for its establishment had been endorsed in 2007 at the 51st National Council on Health, which recognised the need for a technical agency to respond to public health emergencies. The agency is modelled after the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On 13 November 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Establishment Act 2018, which gave the NCDC formal status as a federal government agency with the mandate to promote, coordinate and facilitate the prevention, detection and control of communicable diseases in Nigeria and other events of public health importance.
Key Facts
Established
2011
Headquarters
Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Jabi, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory
Director-general
Dr. Jide Idris
Members
500+
Jurisdiction
Nigeria
Abbreviation
NCDC