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. This is done with a focus on public health services to respond effectively to threats to human health through the early detection, monitoring and evaluation of risks, reporting and submission of evidence-based proposals and intervention measures.

The main functions of the NPHO include activities such as epidemiological surveillance, risk assessment, scientific consult ation, 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 centre 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.

NPHO develops and promotes actions aimed at promoting health, preventing chronic diseases and reducing, in general, the burden of non-communicable diseases.