Abstract
IntroductionThe threat of devastating disease outbreaks is on the rise with several outbreaks recorded across the world in the last five years. The intractable Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in West Africa which spread to Nigeria was a reawakening point. This study aims to review the status and adequacy of the legal framework for disease surveillance in Nigeria. Methods: a mixed methods approach comprising of document reviews and key informant interviews was used in data collection.MethodsA mixed methods approach comprising of document reviews and key informant interviews was used in data collection.ResultsFourteen key informants from the federal ministry of health (FMOH) and six States were interviewed. Five legal instruments were identified and reviewed. The Quarantine Act of 1926 remains the active National Law on disease surveillance in Nigeria. An Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Policy (IDSR) was developed in 2005 as the means for achieving the International Health Regulations (IHR). All six states claimed to have adopted the national IDSR policy though none could present a domesticated version of the policy. Key informants were concerned that Nigeria does not yet have an adequate legal framework for disease surveillance.ConclusionThe legal instruments establishing disease surveillance in Nigeria require strengthening and possibly enactment as a National Law in order to address emerging disease threats.
Highlights
The threat of devastating disease outbreaks is on the rise with several outbreaks recorded across the world in the last five years
The objectives of the entire study are: to examine the legislative/legal framework for routine disease reporting in Nigeria and how it might affect compliance by private providers; to determine the level of reporting of notifiable diseases by private providers, the completeness of information and how these compare with the public sector; to determine the knowledge and perceptions of private healthcare providers on the importance of routine disease reporting in Nigeria; to identify the barriers to routine disease reporting by private healthcare practitioners/facilities in Nigeria
Different legal instruments establishing or reinforcing disease surveillance in the country were identified during the study
Summary
The threat of devastating disease outbreaks is on the rise with several outbreaks recorded across the world in the last five years. An Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response Policy (IDSR) was developed in 2005 as the means for achieving the International Health Regulations (IHR). In 541 AD, grain merchants' from Egypt transported rats infested with an unknown organism at that time into the Eastern Roman Empire causing the Plague of the Justinian period [1] This outbreak left over 30 million people dead with significant economic impact [1]. The World Health Assembly (WHA) in 1969 adopted the International Health Regulations (IHR) as its legal instrument for implementing its constitutional responsibility for controlling the international spread of infectious diseases. The IDSR is a strategy that was first proposed in 1998 by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa as a framework for a coordinated and integrated surveillance and response
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