The Federal Government says it is strengthening Nigeria’s health security system with a national genomic surveillance strategy, expanded laboratory networks, and trained health workers to better respond to public health threats.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, stated this on his official X account, formerly known as Twitter, while briefing Nigerians and the international community on reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Pate said the government was building a resilient and agile health system that would enable Nigeria to detect and respond to emerging and re-emerging diseases, while also contributing to global health security.
According to him, the launch of the National Genomic Surveillance Strategy and the Nigeria Genomics Consortium will revolutionise disease detection, monitoring and response across the country.
He said Nigeria had also integrated genomics into its antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance system, noting that the country would host the 5th Global Ministerial High-Level Conference on AMR in Abuja in 2026. He explained that, while international support was important, Nigeria was mobilising domestic resources to protect its population of over 200 million people.
The Minister listed several achievements by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under Tinubu’s leadership.
These, he said, include the inauguration of the Integrated Disease Reference Laboratory in Lagos for neglected tropical diseases, malaria and fungal infections. He said the Centre had also established new diagnostic laboratories for Mpox and Lassa fever, while optimising existing laboratories in 13 states to reduce the turnaround time for outbreak confirmation.
According to him, the NCDC has further attained the ISO 15189 accreditation for the National Reference Laboratory, in addition to securing a five-star rating for the Central Public Health Laboratory.
He added that a laboratory data management system with real-time dashboards for epidemic-prone diseases had been developed to aid immediate notification and response. (NAN)
