Health minister clashes with NPHIL over outbreak announcements

Published: February 5, 2025

Monrovia – Health Minister Dr. Louise Kpoto has rebuked the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) for announcing a suspected outbreak without her approval. The Minister’s stern remarks, made before the House of Representatives on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, have ignited a fresh debate over the autonomy of public health institutions and the flow of critical health information to the public.

Dr. Kpoto categorically stated that NPHIL lacks the authority to declare outbreaks, asserting that such decisions rest solely with the Ministry of Health and, ultimately, the President. “I told him, NPHIL has no right now to announce an outbreak,” Dr. Kpoto told lawmakers. “It’s the Ministry of Health, in consultation with the President, that has the sole authority to announce outbreaks, after considering all implications.”

Her statement follows a recent controversy in which NPHIL Director Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan allegedly declared a suspected case of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center. The declaration, later retracted, stated that the case was actually linked to Sierra Leone. The back-and-forth has drawn sharp reactions, with critics questioning whether bureaucratic bottlenecks and political control are undermining the nation’s ability to respond swiftly to public health threats.

Dr. Kpoto justified her stance by arguing that outbreak declarations are not merely medical decisions but carry political, financial, and security ramifications. However, health experts warn that placing such a critical function under the rigid control of politicians could delay responses and erode public trust.

Observers note that NPHIL, an institution created to bolster Liberia’s disease surveillance capacity after the devastating 2014-2016 Ebola crisis, was specifically established to act swiftly in identifying and mitigating public health threats. Dr. Nyan’s actions, albeit unapproved by the Minister, appear to align with NPHIL’s statutory mandate to monitor and respond to potential outbreaks. By limiting its ability to disseminate urgent health information, critics argue, the Health Minister risks rendering NPHIL ineffective in its core mission.

The episode also exposes deeper governance challenges, with lawmakers expressing concerns over a lack of clear protocols guiding how health emergencies should be communicated. While Dr. Kpoto insists on structured coordination, her remarks suggest a preference for bureaucratic gatekeeping rather than a streamlined, science-driven approach.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of NPHIL, Dr. Chris Dougbeh Nyan told The Liberian Investigator that at no time NPHIL ever announced any outbreak or suspected outbreak, except for the outbreaks already announced by the World Health Organization.

“The fudiciary responsibility of the National Public Health Insitute is to prevent and control infectious diseases. At the international level, it takes just one case of Mpox for it be declared an outbreak. We never declared an outbreak, it was the World Health Organization and the Africa CDC that declared an outbreak. We at NPHIL, only began to act on that pronouncement and starting doing testing of suspected cases,” he said.