Following the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak, the “NPHIL ACT of 2016” created the National Public Health Institute (NPHIL) of Liberia. By establishing procedures to forecast, prevent, and respond to disease outbreaks and incidents of public health significance, the institution is set apart by the NPHIL Act as a corporate body with perpetual existence tasked with working with other agencies to enhance people’s health.
BACKGROUND
The EVD outbreak of 2014–2016 necessitated the establishment of a structure to work in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to concentrate on strengthening national and subnational public health capacities to institutionalize and implement infection prevention and control practices, improve surveillance and diagnostics, and build public health capacity to prevent the future outbreak of such diseases and other events of public health concern in Liberia.
Currently housed in the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) in Congo Town, NPHIL began its operations drawing on the expertise and experiences of the staff of the MOH’s epidemic preparedness, surveillance, and response system that responded to the EVD epidemic. Key departments and units, including the Liberia Medical Research Institution, responsible for biomedical research, and the Bureau of the Ministry of Health, involved with disease surveillance, were legally incorporated into NPHIL in addition to the National Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Incident Management System (IMS), which were established to coordinate the EVD response.With the support of multiple international and national partner institutions, including Liberia’s traditional allies and health partners, United States Government (USG) agencies, and the World Health Organization, a post-Ebola National Health Investment Plan was developed in 2015 as a road map for rebuilding a resilient health system in Liberia. Recognizing the risk of the re-emergence of Ebola or other disease outbreaks and based on the fluid nature of most epidemics, the national health investment plan outlined the following key priorities as the immediate mandate for the establishment of NPHIL:
- Establish a National Public Health Institute to conduct comprehensive disaster risk mapping and develop national strategic plans to mitigate and respond to disasters, and disease of epidemic potential.
- Lead emergency operations by activating and deactivating the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Incident Management System (IMS) at national, county, district and community levels.
- Establish Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) and Early Warning and Alert Response Network (EWARN) structures at national, county, district and community levels.
- Set up comprehensive surveillance integrated data reporting and action frameworks.
- Build a National Reference Laboratory and four(4) Regional Laboratories, upgrading one(1) Laboratory at Phebe to Regional Laboratory standards.
- Build a National Biobank.