By- Yomi Ayeleso, Ado-Ekiti
The Ekiti state governor, Biodun Oyebanji has commissioned the first zonal reference laboratory of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The Director-General of NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa noted that the laboratory was built in collaboration with the Ekiti State Government, with funding from the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing facility through the Nigeria COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project.
He added that the project aimed to strengthen the country’s diagnostic capacity.
Adetifa said the agency was mandated by law to develop a network of highly specialised reference laboratories across the nation to contribute to national health security.
Adetifa said, “The NCDC’s implementation of its tiered laboratory network is intended to establish an effective network of testing laboratories for diseases of public health importance.
“The ZRLs will bring services closer to states, facilitate sample transportation, reduce turnaround time for testing and release of results, and contribute to resilience in emergency and preparedness efforts at the subnational level.”
Adetifa also said the newly inaugurated Ekiti ZRL would strengthen diagnosis and surveillance of infectious diseases, with particular focus on the six states in the South-West, namely Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Lagos and Ogun and the whole of southern Nigeria.
He further said that the laboratory is equipped to diagnose priority diseases as part of the Centre’s Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response system.
“The laboratory will be the primary hub for timely and accurate diagnosis of epidemic and epidemic-prone diseases constituting public health threats in the South-west,” he said.
Speaking while commissioning the project located within the premises of Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti at the weekend, said the Public Health Laboratory will be a facility for diagnosing communicable diseases which may constitute public health threat to people of Ekiti and neighbouring states, adding the facility will serve Ekiti and other Southwest states as well as Kogi and Kwara states.
The Governor further explained that the facility is well equipped with the state-of-the-art equipment and will be managed by experienced and well qualified laboratory personnel, scientists and epidemiologists.
While commending the state’s health care system which is adjudged best performing diseases surveillance team in Nigeria for the year 2022, the Governor assured Ekiti people of timely diagnosis of diseases and reduction in the turnaround time of sample results and efficient, timely data that will serve as a database for the laboratory surveillance of epidemics prone diseases in the state.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Oyebanji Filani appreciated the Governor and everyone who worked so hard at ensuring that the laboratory become a reality, noting that, ” the laboratory is a guarantee that there is no ailment anywhere that cannot be diagnosed and be treated here in Ekiti.”
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