Section 3: Functions of the Agency

The functions of the Agency shall be-(a) to provide support to the National Health Policy by-
(i) reviewing existing health policies particularly as to their relevance to the development of primary health care and to the integrated development of health services and health manpower and propose changes when necessary;
(ii) preparing alternative proposals for decision makers at all levels based on scientific analysis, including proposals for health legislation; and
(iii) assisting the translation of policies into relevant and feasible strategies, based on research evidence, wherever appropriate;
(b) to provide technical support to the planning, management and implementation of primary health care by-
(i) stimulating and assisting States and Local Government Areas to initiate or accelerate primary health care development where none is taking place or is at very slow pace, and specifically, by supporting the development of capabilities at Local Government Area level in the planning, reviewing and re-planning of their health programmes;
(ii) promoting the participation of women at all levels of primary health care planning, management and implementation particularly at the Local Government Area level;
(iii) conducting studies on health plans for primary health care at various levels to see whether they are relevant to the National Health Policy, feasible and multi-sectoral;
(iv) promoting the monitoring of plan implementation at various levels;
(v) stimulating the technical development of primary health care on an equitable basis in all Local Government Areas; and
(vi) providing strategic technical support to the implementation of selected primary health care components as may be required to enhance orderly development and improve upon or introduce new skills required for health services or to integrate new components into them;
(c) to mobilise resources, nationally and internationally, for the development of primary health care in support of the programmes of the Agency and to conduct or commission studies on resource mobilisation for health and on issues of cost and financing on equitable basis;
(d) to provide support to the monitoring and evaluation of the National Health Policy by-
(i) monitoring the development of the primary health care programmes to ensure that it keeps as much as possible within the guidelines set out in the National Health Policy;
(ii) developing guidelines and designing frameworks for periodic evaluation of primary health care at the various levels; and
(iii) checking the monitoring and evaluation process nationally, with particular respect to the developing of capabilities to analyse and make use of monitoring and evaluation data for management decision-making at Local Government levels;
(e) to promote health manpower development by-
(i) providing technical support to the preparation of health manpower policy, including manpower projections to enhance development of primary health care manpower plan;
(ii) providing advocacy and support for the orientation of medical undergraduate education and the education of other health professionals towards primary health care;
(iii) identifying the orientation and continuing education needs of primary health care manpower, including medical manpower and by organising programmes to meet those needs, using the Schools of Health Technology as a resource; and
(iv) supporting directly the strengthening of the Schools of Health Technology;
(f) to provide support to the village health system by-
(i) paying special attention and providing maximum support to the training, development, logistic support and supervision of the village health workers and traditional birth assistants, and to the relationship between those workers and their communities and the mechanisms which link those workers to the other levels of the health system; and
(ii) paying special attention to the involvement of women and grassroots women's organisation in the village health system;
(g) to promote health systems research by-
(i) promoting and supporting problem-oriented health systems research as a tool for finding better ways for the provision of essential care as a component of health for all and, in particular, by introducing health systems research in the Local Government Area health system and supporting the other levels in this effort;
(ii) undertaking or commissioning health systems and operations researches into the functioning of the primary health care programme;
and
(iii) responding to requests from Government and other agencies in organising special studies and mobilising experts who will respond rapidly and in-depth to guide legislative and administrative actions;
(h) to promote technical collaboration by-
(i) stimulating Universities, non-Governmental organisations and international agencies to work with Local Government Areas in nurturing their capacity for problem solving;
(ii) encouraging Local Government Areas to seek technical collaboration from other local Government Areas and other bodies in developing and implementing their primary health care programmes;
(iii) promoting collaboration with other sectors at all levels in the development and support of the Local Government Area primary health care systems;
(iv) monitoring the collaboration of primary health care between the international agencies and Governments at all levels;
(v) promoting and organising the sharing of experience of the Agency with the world community through publications, reports, visitors and other means and the collection of all relevant information from other countries and international organisations and disseminating such information to all interested parties; and
(vi) promoting maximum support for all its efforts by networking and creating formal and informal collaboration with relevant Nigerian and international institutions;
(i)
to promote primary health care by-
(i) advocacy at the level of community leaders, through the mass media and non-Governmental organisations to promote primary health care and by making particular efforts to ensure that elected and party officials are continually oriented towards primary health care and health for all;
(ii) re-orientating other health professional towards primary health care by means of conferences, seminars and other meetings;
(iii) supporting the documentation of primary health care through commissioning of case studies, reviews, books, articles, newsletters and other media productions, as appropriate;
(iv) establishing resource centres to serve as national and zonal depositories of information on primary health care implementation;
(v) organising seminars, reviews and other meetings to promote primary health care and share experience in implementation with a view to strengthening the primary health care system in Local Government Areas; and
(vi) providing annual reports which are widely disseminated on the status of primary health care implementation national-wide; and
(j) to perform such other functions as may, from time to time, be assigned to it.