The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a new integrated laboratory diagnosis facility to combat the incidence of infectious diseases in the country.

As a matter of public health concerns, the project is a collaborative initiative between Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the Taiwanese government (TECRO) through strategic partners like the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), CDC Nigeria, CDC Foundation, and APIN Public Health Initiatives.

According to the Director General, NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, NCDC had identified the need to develop capacity for advanced diagnostic services and laboratory-based surveillance capacity for malaria, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), mycotic diseases, and similar diseases of public health importance, in response to diagnosis-related challenges for the country’s prioritized infectious diseases.

He stated, while unveiling the facility recently at the centre in Yaba, Lagos that the establishment of the integrated laboratory diagnosis facility would be a game-changer in the fight against infectious diseases of public health importance in Nigeria.

“By providing accurate, early, and comprehensive diagnosis, it will enable informative decision-making for enhanced patient care, proactive disease surveillance and outbreak management, optimize antimicrobial stewardship and reduced antimicrobial resistance, inform research and development for new diagnostic tests and treatments, improve patient safety and reduce healthcare costs, enhance global health security through rapid detection and response, among others.

“The main goal of this timely intervention through the NCDC/CDC-Foundation (TECRO Project) is to further strengthen NCDC’s capacity.

“Malaria, mycotic infections, and NTDs’ have, for far too long, imposed a significant burden on our communities, disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable and hindering development.

“This facility will mark a pivotal step forward in our national health security strategy. It emphasizes NCDC’s unwavering commitment to protecting public health across the nation and by extension serving as model for countries in the region,” Idris said.

On his part, the National Coordinator for the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr. Godwin Ntadom, said Nigeria needs a structure on ground that would be able to assist the country in the fight against infectious diseases.

“We talk about resistance strains, molecular analysis. We need an institution that will be able to spearhead this and that is where NCDC comes in.”

In his goodwill message, the representative, Head of Mission, Taipei Trade Office in Nigeria, Andy Yih-Ping Liu, reiterated Taiwan government’s commitment to supporting the government of Nigeria in its fight against infectious diseases.

“We are going to continue with more collaborating efforts through the partnership that was established by the Nigerian CDC together with the U.S. CDC Foundation and with Taiwan government.”

Also, the Senior Program Officer, CDC Foundation, Cassandra Webber, said the partnership between NCDC, Taiwan government and the CDC Foundation will help strengthen the public health infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and bolster the continent’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

Source: The Sun Nigeria