Section 3: Functions of the Centre.

(1) The Centre shall—
(a) prevent, detect, monitor and control diseases of national and international public health importance, including emerging and re-emerging diseases;
(b) develop, maintain and coordinate surveillance systems to collect, analyse and interpret data on diseases of public health importance, in order to detect public health threats, guide health interventions and set public health priorities;
(c) lead the response to disease outbreaks, public health emergencies and disasters in order to minimise the impact on health;
(d) develop and maintain a network of reference and specialised laboratories for pathogen detection, disease surveillance and outbreak response;
(e) develop and maintain guidelines and processes for specimen collection and transportation to reference laboratories including the World Health Organization (WHO) standard reference laboratories in Nigeria;
(f) conduct, collate, synthesise and disseminate public health research to inform policy and guidelines on diseases of public health importance, and put in place a national public health research agenda and database;
(g) strengthen national health information systems to support prevention and control measures of communicable diseases;
(h) provide information to the public through multiple platforms on diseases and public health events;
(i) coordinate the operationalisation of, and ongoing international health regulations, including trans-border disease surveillance and control activities and lead the collaboration with global health agencies;
(j) provide support and coordinate the control of national and trans-border responses to mass public health emergencies, such as mass casualties, floods, nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism, disease outbreaks and heavy metals poisoning;
(k) develop and maintain a communication network with all public health institutions, with roles in mitigating the impact of diseases;
(l) provide scientific guidance for local production of vaccines and other biological agents such as diagnostic kits, sera and anti-sera, food science; and nutritional products, and other related substances useful for the health services, through locally developed technology or technology transfer;
(m) provide support to the Federal Ministry of Health for the development of evidence-based guidelines and policies as well as the implementation of programmes relating to disease prevention and control, in line with international guidelines and recommendations;
(n) provide guidance, technical and logistic support to the States and Local Governments for the planning, implementation and management of diseases of public health importance and on activities to reduce health risk and impact from public health events;
(o) provide technical support to relevant government institutions on environmental health activities, as it relates to disease prevention, control and emergency disaster response;
(p) provide technical support for health disaster risk-reduction and management in collaboration with other major stakeholders in the country;
(q) implement relevant decisions of National Council on Health as regards disease control, prevention and disaster management;
(r) serve as the Secretariat to the National Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee;
(s) lead on the training of field epidemiologists through the Nigeria Field Epidemiology Training Programme; and
(t) carry out such activities as may be necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions under this Act.
(2) The Centre shall submit annual costed work plans relating to its functions to the Minister for approval.