The Directorate-General of Health ( pt, Direção-Geral da Saúde; DGS) is a division of the Portuguese public administration concerned with

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

. Even though it is statutorily a service of the Ministry of Health, it is a public agency with administrative autonomy. It was created in 1899, after a plague outbreak in Porto, in order to coordinate efforts and planning against future disease outbreaks and epidemics. Its main attributions are to regulate, guide and coordinate the activities of health promotion and disease prevention within the country, to set the technical conditions for adequate healthcare, to prepare and assure the execution of the National Health Plan, and to manage public health emergencies. The Directorate-General of Health is governed by a Director-General who is, as part of their functions, the country's

Chief Medical Officer Chief medical officer (CMO) is the title used in many countries for the senior government official designated head of medical services, sometimes at the national level. The post is held by a physician who serves to advise and lead a team of medical ...

( pt, Autoridade de Saúde Nacional, literally the "National Health Authority"). The current Director-General of Health is

Graça Freitas Maria da Graça Gregório de Freitas (born 26 August 1957) is a Portuguese physician and public health specialist who was the Director-General of Health and inherently the chief medical officer and leading spokesperson on matters of public hea ...

, having taken office on 1 January 2018.

References

{{authority control Government agencies established in 1899 Government agencies of Portugal Medical and health organisations based in Portugal 1899 establishments in Portugal