• Set standards for food safety and quality; safety, efficacy, quality and proper use of medicines; competence and practice of health professionals; hygiene and environmental health; competence of health and health-related institutions and ensure their implementation and observance
• Issue, renew, suspend, revoke or deny a certificate of competence for specialized health institutions, food or medicines processing plants, quality control laboratories, importer, exporters, storage or distributors and trans-regional health service institutions
• Initiate policy to strengthen food, medicines, health professionals and health institutions quality and efficiency; initiate draft legislation and forward the same for approval;
• Serve as medicines, food, health professionals and health and health-related institutions information center
• Identify ingredients that caused death or ill health due to medicines residue or adulteration of medicines and food and take appropriate measures by conducting an investigation on sample ingredients
• Organize quality control laboratories as needed to carry out its duty;
• Give import or export permit for food, medicines, raw materials and packaging materials and undertake dead bodies control and give entry or exit permit
• Prepare a list of medicines for the country, structure the medicines in the list into different categories, revise the list whenever necessary
• Evaluate and issue, renew, suspend, revoke or deny registration certificate for medicines
• Undertake and coordinate post-marketing surveillance in order to ensure the safety and quality of food and safety, efficacy and quality of medicines that are put into use and take appropriate measures
• Authorize conducting a clinical trial, monitor the process, evaluate the results and authorize the use of the result in such a way that it benefits the public; as well as cause to suspend or stop the clinical trial
• Monitor and control manufacture, import, export, distribution, prescribing, dispensing, use, recording and reporting of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substance and precursor chemicals, prevent their abuse as well as report the same to the International Narcotic Control Board
• Regulate the content, manufacture, import, export, distribution, sales, use, packaging and labeling, advertisement and promotion, and disposal of tobacco products
• Undertake inspection on plane entering the country and undertake fumigation and give certificate for plane departing the country
• Undertake control of communicable diseases at entry and exit port on international travelers, prohibit entry, exit or to be quarantined where relevant, and ensure the relevant prevention and control of trans-regional communicable diseases is done
• Evaluate and issue, renew, suspend, revoke or deny license for scarce health professionals, complementary or alternative medicines practitioners and health professionals coming privately or in a group from abroad to deliver health service
• Ensure proper disposal of expired and unfit for use food, medicines and their raw materials
• Ensure handling and disposal of trans-regional solid and liquid wastes from different institutions are not harmful to public health
• Monitor and control illegal food, medicines and health services and take appropriate measures
• ensure the quality of trans-regional water supply for the public is up to the standard
• Control, monitor and ensure the availability of necessary hygienic requirements in health-related institutions under the federal government;
• Provide appropriate capacity support to regions on food, medicines and healthcare regulatory bodies with a view to harmonizing the federal and regional regulatory system
• Perform other lawful activities as may be necessary for the attainment of its objectives