Nigeria National Health Act 2014

Overview

Field	Value
Pack ID	nigeria/nha
Full title	Nigeria National Health Act 2014
Regulator	Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH)
Jurisdiction	Nigeria (NG)
Effective date	December 2014
Additional authorities	NITDA (NDPA special-category), MDCN (MDP Act Cap M8)

What comply54 enforces

Patient consent (NHA §26)

Access to patient health records requires documented consent. No exemption for AI systems.

Condition	Decision
consent_documented = true	Continue to further checks
consent_documented = false	deny

result = compliance.check(
    action="access_patient_records",
    params={"patient_id": "P001", "record_type": "full_history"},
    context={"consent_documented": False},
)
# decision: deny — NHA §26: patient consent required before accessing health records

AI diagnosis and clinical oversight (FMOH AI Policy Guideline 4)

The FMOH AI in Healthcare Policy (Draft 2024) prohibits autonomous AI diagnosis without a human clinician in the loop.

Condition	Decision
human_clinician_oversight = true	escalate — clinician sign-off required
human_clinician_oversight = false	deny

result = compliance.check(
    action="generate_diagnosis",
    params={"patient_id": "P001", "symptoms": ["fever", "headache"]},
    context={"human_clinician_oversight": True, "consent_documented": True},
)
# decision: escalate — FMOH AI Policy Guideline 4: AI-generated diagnosis requires
#           clinician review and sign-off before communicating to patient

Prescription prohibition (NHA §30, MDP Act Cap M8 §16)

Only registered medical or dental practitioners may prescribe medication. AI systems may not prescribe.

Condition	Decision
licensed_clinician_approval = true	allow
licensed_clinician_approval = false	deny

result = compliance.check(
    action="prescribe_medication",
    params={"medication": "amoxicillin", "dosage": "500mg"},
    context={"licensed_clinician_approval": False, "consent_documented": True},
)
# decision: deny — NHA §30 + MDP Act Cap M8 §16: AI prescription without licensed
#           clinician approval is prohibited

Cross-border health data (NHA §29 + NDPA §25)

Health data is special-category under the NDPA. Transfer outside Nigeria is prohibited regardless of destination adequacy.

Condition	Decision
Destination = Nigeria	Standard NDPA checks
Destination outside Nigeria, health data	deny

result = compliance.check(
    action="share_health_data",
    params={
        "patient_id": "P001",
        "destination_country": "GB",
        "data_type": "health_records",
    },
    context={"consent_documented": True},
)
# decision: deny — NHA §29 + NDPA §25: cross-border transfer of health data prohibited

Bulk record access and research (NHA §29)

Access to more than 10 patient records triggers escalation. Research purposes require IRB/ethics committee approval.

Condition	Decision
record_count > 10	escalate
purpose = "research"	escalate — IRB/ethics approval required

Input fields used

Field	Path in input	Description
Action	input.action	"access_patient_records", "generate_diagnosis", "prescribe_medication", "share_health_data"
Patient ID	input.params.patient_id	Patient identifier
Record count	input.params.record_count	Integer (triggers escalation above 10)
Destination country	input.params.destination_country	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
Data type	input.params.data_type	"health_records", "lab_results", "prescription"
Purpose	input.params.purpose	"treatment", "research", "referral"
Consent documented	input.context.consent_documented	Boolean
Human clinician oversight	input.context.human_clinician_oversight	Boolean
Licensed clinician approval	input.context.licensed_clinician_approval	Boolean

Messages returned

NHA §26: Patient consent is required before accessing health records — no consent documented
FMOH AI Policy Guideline 4: AI-generated diagnosis requires human clinician review and sign-off
NHA §30 + MDP Act Cap M8 §16: AI prescription without licensed clinician approval is prohibited
NHA §29 + NDPA §25: Cross-border transfer of health data is prohibited regardless of destination
NHA §29: Bulk access to 10+ patient records requires escalation and audit trail
NHA §29: Research purpose requires IRB or ethics committee approval

Regulatory references

• Nigeria National Health Act 2014 — Federal Ministry of Health
• FMOH AI in Healthcare Policy Draft 2024 — Guideline 4 (clinical oversight), Guideline 7 (no autonomous prescriptions)
• Medical and Dental Practitioners Act Cap M8 LFN 2004 §16 — practitioner definition and prescription rights
• Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 §25 — cross-border transfers; special-category data provisions

Related

• Nigeria Health sector pack
• NDPA 2023 policy reference