FG inaugurates first IVD lab in Nigeria

According to Nigerian Tribune, the Federal Government, on Thursday, made history with the inauguration of the first public health In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) control laboratory in the country.



President Goodluck Jonathan, speaking at the inauguration ceremony, in Lagos, said the IVD control laboratory at the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Yaba, would strengthen the regulatory function of the council, with respect to the verification, validation, listing and registration of in-vitro laboratory diagnostics in the country.



He noted that this was aimed at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health care, based on the transformation agenda of the Federal Government.



The president, represented by the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, advised manufacturers, producers and importers of reagents and chemicals to comply with the law, by submitting their products to the IVD laboratory for testing, analysis and certification.



He, however, reiterated government's zero tolerance to substandard practices, adding that health laboratories played a critical role and so needed high quality personnel, equipment, reagents and chemicals to produce reliable result.



The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of MLSCN, Professor Anthony Emeribe, expressed worries over reports that more than 50 per cent of public health in-vitro diagnostic in the country were substandard, fake, expired or poorly stored, noting that this made it difficult to obtain accurate and reliable results from medical laboratories.

Professor Emeribe, however, believed that the improvement in medical laboratory services would produce positive implications in the health indices of the country.



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