After a five-week long recess resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Assembly resumed plenary sessions in both chambers on Tuesday, April 28. The House of Representatives adjourned sitting till Tuesday, May 5, while the Senate adjourned sine die (no scheduled date for the next sitting) but later announced that it will resume sitting on the same day as the Green chamber. The House of Representatives which opted to sit once a week also released a set of guidelines for resumption of proceedings, in adherence to safety measures prescribed by health authorities.
After a five-week long recess resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Assembly resumed plenary sessions in both chambers on Tuesday, April 28. The House of Representatives adjourned sitting till Tuesday, May 5, while the Senate adjourned sine die (no scheduled date for the next sitting) but later announced that it will resume sitting on the same day as the Green chamber. The House of Representatives which opted to sit once a week also released a set of guidelines for resumption of proceedings, in adherence to safety measures prescribed by health authorities.
The House of Representatives at its plenary, considered a A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Quarantine Act and Enact the Control of Infectious Diseases Act, Make Provisions Relating to Quarantine and Make Regulations for Preventing the Introduction into and Spread in Nigeria of Dangerous Infectious Diseases, and for Other Related Matters (HB. 836), which scaled first and second readings.
The Bill seeks to legislate on the management of infectious diseases in Nigeria, with the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the lead for the administration of its provisions, subject to the guidance of the Minister of Health in some instances. It also empowers the President of Nigeria to declare a public health emergency following the outbreak or imminent outbreak of an infectious disease likely to result in significant human fatalities. Dangerous infectious diseases listed in the Bill are Plague, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Yellow Fever and Coronavirus disease.
The Bill proposes to confer the Director-General of the NCDC with discretionary powers to manage and control the spread of infectious diseases in the country. Some of these powers include obtaining necessary information from health workers on a suspected carrier of an infectious disease or the contact of such a person, ordering the isolation of such persons, instituting health surveillance programmes, ordering post-mortem examination of a person suspected to have died of an infectious disease; and directing vaccination of a person or class of persons not protected against an infectious disease, among other powers.
If passed, this Bill may be the only piece of legislation that comes close to addressing public health challenges in Nigeria. However, some of its provisions raise questions that ought to be addressed, among other concerns citizens may have before its passage.
Although the powers the proposed legislation seek to confer on the Health Minister are largely supervisory, some others are more assertive. A clause in the Bill empowers the Minister to declare any premises an isolation area for the purpose of preventing the spread or outbreak of an infectious disease, by notification in the Gazette, which remains effective until the specified period expires or the Minister revokes it. The Minister is further empowered to take necessary actions with respect to such areas, including prohibition of movement, disposal or destruction of goods and structures. These powers, although they appear necessary in the circumstances may be too broad and raise human right concerns on how people and their possessions are handled. The Bill also empowers the Director-General to direct owners or occupiers of buildings to abate overcrowding or close all or part of the buildings if in the Director-General’s opinion, such buildings are overcrowded and the risk of infection of an infectious disease is apparent. Implementation of this provision seems unrealistic considering the housing situation in the country, with many individuals living in shared homes in high density areas.
In the event of an outbreak or suspected outbreak of an infectious disease, the Bill provides that the Director-General may order any person or class of persons not protected or vaccinated against the disease to undergo vaccination. It also makes provisions for parents and guardians to ensure vaccination of every child in Nigeria against Diphtheria, Measles, Polio and Meningitis. Again, while the aim is to ensure public safety, it appears to be far-reaching, and imposing such decisions on people may be met with resistance. It is important that people are thoroughly educated on these health issues, made to understand the implications and therefore, take decisions to protect themselves and others.
The Bill empowers the Director-General and Port Health authorities to require that travelers leaving or entering Nigeria be vaccinated against prescribed infectious diseases and produce a valid international certificate to that effect. In the event that such a person has not been vaccinated, to require the person to do so and subject him/her to isolation and in the case of a non-Nigerian who has not undergone vaccination, to refuse entry. This practice is not new, as many countries require that travelers who wish to visit their countries are vaccinated against certain diseases in order to be gain entry into those countries.
The Bill creates offences and provides penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment terms of up to 2 years. All offences the Bill seeks to create may be tried by a Magistrate Court.
These offences range from willfully withholding information relevant to the management of an infectious disease from the health authorities, to violating isolation protocols and orders made pursuant to safeguarding public health. The Police is the enforcement agency responsible for providing assistance, where necessary to implement the provisions of the Bill. Considering the prevalence of human rights abuses perpetrated by law enforcement agencies, in the process of performing their lawful duties, it is imperative that personnel of these agencies are properly trained to understand their roles and the extent of force necessary, if any, that may be used to effectively carry out these functions.
After a five-week long recess resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Assembly resumed plenary sessions in both chambers on Tuesday, April 28. The House of Representatives adjourned sitting till Tuesday, May 5, while the Senate adjourned sine die (no scheduled date for the next sitting) but later announced that it will resume sitting on the same day as the Green chamber. The House of Representatives which opted to sit once a week also released a set of guidelines for resumption of proceedings, in adherence to safety measures prescribed by health authorities.
The House of Representatives at its plenary, considered a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Quarantine Act and Enact the Control of Infectious Diseases Act, Make Provisions Relating to Quarantine and Make Regulations for Preventing the Introduction into and Spread in Nigeria of Dangerous Infectious Diseases, and for Other Related Matters (HB. 836), which scaled first and second readings.
The Bill seeks to legislate on the management of infectious diseases in Nigeria, with the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the lead for the administration of its provisions, subject to the guidance of the Minister of Health in some instances. It also empowers the President of Nigeria to declare a public health emergency following the outbreak or imminent outbreak of an infectious disease likely to result in significant human fatalities. Dangerous infectious diseases listed in the Bill are Plague, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Yellow Fever and Coronavirus disease.
The Bill proposes to confer the Director-General of the NCDC with discretionary powers to manage and control the spread of infectious diseases in the country. Some of these powers include obtaining necessary information from health workers on a suspected carrier of an infectious disease or the contact of such a person, ordering the isolation of such persons, instituting health surveillance programmes, ordering post-mortem examination of a person suspected to have died of an infectious disease; and directing vaccination of a person or class of persons not protected against an infectious disease, among other powers.
If passed, this Bill may be the only piece of legislation that comes close to addressing public health challenges in Nigeria. However, some of its provisions raise questions that ought to be addressed, among other concerns citizens may have before its passage.
Although the powers the proposed legislation seek to confer on the Health Minister are largely supervisory, some others are more assertive. A clause in the Bill empowers the Minister to declare any premises an isolation area for the purpose of preventing the spread or outbreak of an infectious disease, by notification in the Gazette, which remains effective until the specified period expires or the Minister revokes it. The Minister is further empowered to take necessary actions with respect to such areas, including prohibition of movement, disposal or destruction of goods and structures. These powers, although they appear necessary in the circumstances may be too broad and raise human right concerns on how people and their possessions are handled. The Bill also empowers the Director-General to direct owners or occupiers of buildings to abate overcrowding or close all or part of the buildings if in the Director-General’s opinion, such buildings are overcrowded and the risk of infection of an infectious disease is apparent. Implementation of this provision seems unrealistic considering the housing situation in the country, with many individuals living in shared homes in high density areas.
In the event of an outbreak or suspected outbreak of an infectious disease, the Bill provides that the Director-General may order any person or class of persons not protected or vaccinated against the disease to undergo vaccination. Again, while the aim is to ensure public safety, it appears to be far-reaching, and imposing such decisions on people may be met with resistance. It is important that people are thoroughly educated on these health issues and made to understand and take decisions to protect themselves and others.
The Bill empowers the Director-General and Port Health authorities to require that travelers leaving or entering Nigeria be vaccinated against prescribed infectious diseases and produce a valid international certificate to that effect. In the event that such a person has not been vaccinated, to require the person to do so and subject him/her to isolation and in the case of a non-Nigerian who has not undergone vaccination, to refuse entry. This practice is not new, as many countries require that travelers who wish to visit their countries are vaccinated against certain diseases in order to be gain entry into those countries.
The Bill creates offences and provides penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment terms of up to 2 years. All offences the Bill seeks to create may be tried by a Magistrate Court.
These offences range from willfully withholding information relevant to the management of an infectious disease from the health authorities, to violating isolation protocols and orders made pursuant to safeguarding public health. The Police is the enforcement agency responsible for providing assistance, where necessary to implement the provisions of the Bill. Considering the prevalence of human rights abuses perpetrated by law enforcement agencies, in the process of performing their lawful duties, it is imperative that personnel of these agencies are properly trained to understand their roles and the extent of force necessary, if any, that may be used to effectively carry out these functions.