With the legislative hurdle crossed, the NCDC’s bill is a signature away from being a federal law
On Thursday March 29, the bill for the establishment of the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) passed third reading on the floor of the Nigerian Senate which means all that is needed for the bill to became a law is the president’s signature.
In November 2017, healthnews.ng reported that Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, asked the lawmakers to quickly pass the NCDC bill into law. He made this call while presenting the budget for 2018 before the joint session of the National Assembly.
According to the president, passing the bill into law will enable the government to consolidate on the successes recorded to date.
Then in January 2018, healthnews.ng also reported that a public hearing was held for the bill. In legislative parlance, this was a major step towards ensuring passage of the NCDC bill into law.
When the president finally signs the bill into law, it would bring an end to a process that had witnessed several delays.
Last week, the Chairman of the Senate committee on primary health care and communicable diseases, Mao Ohuabunwa, announced on Twitter that the bill had passed the third reading on the floor of the Senate although he had earlier promised that the bill would be passed into law before the end of 2017.
The Bill for an Act seeking to establish @NCDCgov today passed 3rd reading on the floor of the @NGRSenate
It’s a major milestone in our nation’s quest towards strengthening our disease surveillance
The Bill now awaits Presidential assent @IsaacFAdewole @Fmohnigeria @Chikwe_I— Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa (@SenOhuabunwa) March 29, 2018
Ohuabunwa said the Senate was committed to the development of the health sector adding that this is why it created a committee for primary healthcare and communicable disease instead of, ”just maintaining the status quo.”
“With the prevalence of disease outbreak in Nigeria, we are geared and ready to collaborate with NCDC to ensure that we can achieve the universal health care coverage, or health for all in 2020. We mean it when we say the establishment of an institution of NCDC is important and we are legalising it.
“We have resolved to support NCDC, National Agency for Control of AIDS, NACA and primary health care because of the prevalence of disease outbreaks across the country.”