Sodiq Ojuroungbe
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has unveiled its Integrated Disease Reference Laboratory in Lagos dedicated to combating malaria, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Mycotic Infections, and other diseases.
The initiative, funded through collaborative efforts with international partners including the United States and Taiwanese governments, marked a significant milestone in the country’s public health strategy.
The laboratory is also meant to enhance diagnostic capabilities and treatment strategies across Nigeria.
Speaking at the inauguration held at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Yaba, Lagos on Friday, the Director General of NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, said the facility is poised to revolutionise disease surveillance and response efforts, provide early and accurate diagnoses that are pivotal for effective patient care and outbreak management.
While stressing the need for advanced diagnostic services amidst Nigeria’s diverse and challenging health landscape, he explained that the laboratory will serve as a national reference centre, ensuring standardised testing protocols and offering confirmatory testing services.
The NCDC boss lamented that malaria, mycotic infections, and NTDs have imposed a significant burden on Nigerian communities, disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable and hindering development.
He, however, said the Integrated Disease Reference Laboratory will be equipped with cutting-edge testing platforms to enable the delivery of faster, and more precise diagnoses of malaria and a broader spectrum of NTDs.
Idris added that the facility is also expected to help advance research and development for new diagnostics and treatments.
“I will tell you something, we are extremely lucky; at least under this present government of President Bola Tinubu, he has made healthcare a priority of his administration. He has appointed a coordinating minister, Professor Pate, to lead this charge, and he (Pate) established four pillars. And the last pillar is health security, which is what I am heading.
“What does health security mean? It connotes just about four things; prevention, surveillance of disease, detection and response. That is, any country should be able to prevent its citizens from catching or getting involved with any disease, when you fail to prevent that, you must be able to detect it quickly and respond appropriately to reduce morbidity and mortality.
“When I got into NCDC, I added one more which is a partnership, because we cannot effectively carry out our work in NCDC without a partnership.
“Over the years, this compound has continued to develop. Part of that development is what we have here today, just to increase capacity for diagnosis, of malaria, neglected tropical disease, mycology, and other public health diseases,” he stated.
The NCDC boss, however, shed light on plans underway to expand the facility by partnering with an international firm to establish a BSL-3 laboratory and a training institute
He further said, “The plan is to expand our detection capabilities for us to effectively combat these diseases, and for us to be able to do our work together.
“As we embark on this groundbreaking project, I am inspired by the visionary leadership of the President for making health a priority of his administration, as well as that of the Honourable Coordinating Minister of Health, which has catalysed a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s healthcare landscape. Needless to say, this project aligns seamlessly with Professor Pate’s forward-thinking agenda, particularly in the areas of diagnostics and surveillance, under the Health Security agenda.
“By establishing this integrated disease reference laboratory, we are not only contributing to the vision for a stronger, more resilient health system but also adding our significant quota to the actualisation of Nigeria’s Universal Health Coverage goals.
“This accomplishment is not an isolated victory. It represents the culmination of dedicated efforts by collaborative teams at the NCDC, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and our esteemed health security partners.
“I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the Taiwanese government (TECRO) through our strategic partners the US-CDC, CDC Nigeria, CDC Foundation, and APIN for the technical & financial resources, your commitment, support and all you are set to do, to see to the realisation of this project. Our collaboration is a testament to the power of strategic partnerships in driving systemic change. With our collective expertise, resources, and support, this partnership will again demonstrate the power of collaboration in achieving common goals and driving shared vision into reality.”
Earlier in his remarks, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi said the establishment of the laboratory will ensure that malaria diagnoses are based on rigorous testing, thereby avoiding the pitfalls of over-treatment and misdiagnosis.
He underscored the importance of evidence-based medicine and accurate diagnosis in managing diseases like malaria.
Abayomi said the laboratory would serve as a central hub for diagnosing not only malaria but other neglected tropical diseases, and infectious diseases of public health importance.
He added that the facility’s advanced molecular biology techniques, including sequencing technologies, promise to revolutionise disease surveillance and response capabilities across the state.
The health commissioner stated, “For us in Lagos, we must continue to strive towards an evidence-based practice of medicine; that involves making the correct diagnosis and treating appropriately without the risk of over-treating or under-treating.
“Malaria is one of those classic diseases where we tend to make a clinical diagnosis. Anybody with little body pain and headache is tagged as having malaria, and that has significant implications clinically.
“If you don’t make the diagnosis laboratory of malaria, then you will be exposing the patient to polypharmacy and all kinds of mistreatment and misdiagnosis. We are trying to drive the culture of testing and treating with positive results.
“And for us to have a reference malaria laboratory in Lagos, funded by our partners, is really a step in the right direction.
“This is going to drive that collaboration between the federal and the state public health laboratories. I know that the federal government is unable because of resources, to operate in every state at the grassroots level. So, this is a reference laboratory. The capacity transfer must happen from here to the state public health laboratories so that we are empowered at the state and we don’t need to put undue pressure on the Center for Disease Control, especially when we come under pressure with biological shocks like in Lagos now we are just recovering from a cholera outbreak.
“It’s been a wonderful collaboration between the Lagos state government, NCDC, WHO, UNICEF, MSF, all our partners, and the United States government to bring the burden of malaria or cholera under control.
“We are beginning to see more and more of these events happening. It’s a consequence of the demographic changing profile of the country. It’s a consequence of the environmental factors that are going on. And so as a government, both sub and federal, we’ve got to put our heads together with our partners and see how we can create biological protection around our citizens, both in the state and in the federal.”
The Consul General of the United States to Nigeria, Will Stevens, stressed the need to improve Nigeria’s disease response capabilities, lamenting that the country accounts for over one-third of all malaria deaths and cases worldwide.
He reflected on Nigeria’s response to past health crises, notably the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Lagos, adding, “It was heroic to witness Nigeria’s professionalism and commitment during the Ebola crisis.”
The Consul General noted that the collaborative efforts between the U.S. government and Nigeria in building robust health systems proved essential during subsequent health emergencies like COVID-19.
He expressed pride in the partnership’s achievements in bringing world-class healthcare, research, and monitoring systems to Nigeria.
“The health systems we built together to combat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis formed the foundation for our response to COVID-19,” he affirmed.
Stevens also acknowledged Taiwan’s significant contributions to the laboratory project, which enabled its realisation.
“Our collaboration with Nigeria aims not only to address African health challenges but also to foster African solutions to global health problems.
“Thank you to our colleagues from Taiwan whose support has made this laboratory launch possible,” he noted.
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