By Hassan Zaggi
President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the Federal Government is determined to provide the enabling environment and opportunities for scientists in Nigeria to sharpen their skills and increase their knowledge in the area of research and development in order to contribute meaningfully in unravelling the secrets behind the Corona Virus.
This, he said, was because the SARS-COV-2 was labelled “novel” in the early days, a warning that its properties and behaviour were not known, or just unfolding, noting that: “We know more today, but are still grappling with new revelations about the virus, some of which surprise us, showing that we still have more to learn. We must therefore continue on alert.”
President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this at the 2nd Regional Annual Scientific Conference and Induction of Elected Fellows of the West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science (WAPCMLS) in Abuja,
Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, therefore said that “this is where the West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science needs to play the role of ensuring that relevant quality human resource capacity is developed in the West African subregion, to upgrade laboratory capacity and strengthen the health system.”
President Buhari further said that: “Government has provided funds for establishment of molecular laboratories in all Federal tertiary health institutions and research centres. State Governments and Development Partners have also supported laboratory strengthening in different ways.”
According to him, Nigeria’s molecular laboratory assets have since increased to over 140, in both private and public sphere, while knowledge and skills to conduct molecular testing has spread to hundreds of laboratory scientists around the nation.
This rapid and widespread expansion of diagnostic capacity, according to him, was one of the advantages that helped the country manage the Covid-19 pandemic in an accurate and safe manner.
Speaking earlier, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who was represented by the Director of Hospital Services, Dr Adebimpe Adebiyi, said that the global health has been challenged since 2019, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pandemic, he noted, challenged health systems, supply chain systems and economies worldwide and has also exposed the gaps in health care systems especially laboratory capacities.
The Minister revealed that: “At the onset of COVID-19, very few laboratories had capacity to conduct molecular testing, a methodology that has overtaken traditional methods used to identify organisms.
“We could not have effectively managed the pandemic the way we did without increasing the number of laboratories that could detect COVID-19 accurately and in a safe manner.
“Today we are grappling with COVID-19, we do not know what it will be tomorrow. So we much continue to be battle ready. Government will continue to provide the enabling environment for professionals to work, and the professionals are expected to continue to improve their knowledge and skill.
“This is where the West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science needs to play the critical role of ensuring relevant human resource capacity is developed in the West African sub region to compliment efforts of government at strengthening laboratory capacity.”
The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Improving Global Health by Strengthening Laboratory Capacity in Africa’.
