In order to arrest the prevalence of health challenges in the country, the Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the Public Health and Infectious Disease Management Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Professor Khadija Musa has urged the National Assembly to pass the National Institute of Public Health and Infectious Diseases (NIPHID), Zaria Establishment Bill, saying it will strengthen rather than duplicate Nigeria’s public health system.

Musa made the call, while presenting the association’s memorandum at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Infectious Diseases on the proposed legislation.

She described the establishment of NIPHID as a strategic step towards strengthening Nigeria’s public health security architecture through improved infectious disease research, specialist training and clinical services.

According to her, concerns that the proposed institute would duplicate the functions of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) are unfounded.

She said many countries operate complementary institutions with clearly defined responsibilities.

According to her, “in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works alongside the National Institutes of Health”.

She added, “in the United Kingdom, the UK Health Security Agency complements the National Institute for Health and Care Research, while in South Africa, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases works alongside the South African Medical Research Council”.

“These are separate but complementary institutions with distinct mandates,” she stressed.

Musa said Nigeria, with a population of more than 230 million people and 36 states as well as the Federal Capital Territory, required multiple specialised institutions to effectively address growing public health challenges.

She remarked further that the proposed institute would complement existing institutions by building technical capacity, advancing infectious disease research and producing specialised manpower.

“The bill is in order. It does not duplicate efforts but rather complements the existing system and will improve standards and technical capacity in infectious disease management,” she said.

The professor, who is also Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Otaoke, Bayelsa State commended the National Assembly for initiating the bill.

She, however, recommended amendments to strengthen its implementation and enhance its effectiveness.

Meanwhile, earlier, the Acting Head and Chief Executive Officer of NIPHID, Dr Dalhatu Abdullahi Aminu, said the bill would transform the former National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Training Centre, Zaria, into a specialist tertiary institution for infectious diseases, public health training and research.

He said the institute would provide advanced clinical care, specialist training, cutting-edge research and support national efforts to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) urged lawmakers to ensure that the proposed institute’s functions did not overlap with its statutory responsibilities.

However, Aminu explained that he discovered the stakeholders and members of the committee had been working with an incorrect, ungazetted version of the bill.

He clarified that his submission was based on the officially gazetted version published in the Journal of the National Assembly (No. 77, Vol. 22) on Dec. 8, 2025.

He further informed the committee that he had submitted hard copies of the correct gazetted version to the committee secretariat to rectify the error.

Representing the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Olajide Idris said the NCDC supported upgrading the Zaria facility into a tertiary institution focused on teaching, research and clinical services, provided its mandate complemented that of the agency.

Also, the Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC) asked the committee to reject the bill, arguing that it could create overlapping responsibilities and institutional conflicts.

The coalition instead recommended strengthening the NCDC through increased funding, legislative amendments and expanded regional presence.

The public hearing attracted submissions from stakeholders across the health sector as lawmakers considered the proposed legislation