HCDCP

NPHO

The National Public Health Organization (NPHO) is a legal entity of Private Law under the supervision of the Minister of Health. It is established under the Law 4633/2019 and it is the universal successor of the pre-existing Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (KEELPNO/HCDCP), which was abolished by the Law 4600/2019.

NPHO’s mission is to provide services that contribute to the protection and improvement of health and increase the life expectancy of the population by enhancing the capacity of the National Healthcare System, with particular focus on public health services, to effectively respond to threats to human health by communicable diseases through the early detection, monitoring and evaluation of risks, reporting and submission of evidence-based proposals and intervention measures.

NPHO develops and promotes actions aimed at promoting health, preventing chronic diseases and reducing, in general, the burden of non-communicable diseases. The main functions of the NPHO include activities such as epidemiological surveillance, risk assessment, scientific consultation, preparedness and response, provision of reliable and comparable epidemiological data and statistics to national, European and international authorities; education and training in the field of public health, informing the public and health professionals about the risks of serious health threats and promoting public awareness-raising actions. NPHO is the operational center for the planning and implementation of public health protection actions, maintaining readiness to respond to emergency health risks and adjusting its operations to the needs of the country and the international organizations with which NPHO collaborates.

The key goals of the Organization include:

1. a) Monitoring and assessing the health of the population as well as the biological, socio-economic and environmental determinants that affect it.
2. b) The epidemiological surveillance and monitoring of the consequences of communicable diseases on public health.
3. c) Developing and taking preventive measures and informing the target population on how to protect their health and safeguard their well-being.
4. d) Measures aimed at protecting the population against all kinds of communicable disease threats, promoting actions aimed at improving health, preventing chronic and non-communicable diseases and addressing adverse health conditions.