The Federal Government has frowned at the increasing number of unaccredited and ill-equipped medical laboratories across the country.
It has directed that such laboratories have until 2025 to get accredited and standardised, or risk being shut down or prosecuted, in the case of quacks posing as professionals.
The Registrar of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Dr. Tosan Erhabor, announced this at the pre-conference briefing of West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science in Abuja.
At this year’s conference of the college with theme: Improving Global Health by Strengthening Medical Laboratory Capacity in Africa, about 120 medical laboratory scientists will be inducted as elected Fellows of the West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science at the International Conference Centre in Abuja between November 15 and 17, 2021.
Dr. Erhabor said: “Most of our laboratories do not key into what we call external quality assurance. Most facilities that we have in Nigeria do not use reagents that are validated for this use. Also, in most of our facilities, the equipment are not calibrated for use.
“For Nigeria’s health system to key into the African Continental Free Trade Zone, all laboratories in Nigeria have been given up to 2025 to be accredited or phase out.
“We just did an inspection in three states to shut down quack laboratories and even our colleagues that their laboratories are not too good were shut down. It will amaze you that facilities in Nigeria, which are tagged laboratories – owned by quacks – are also used as a hospitals. Such persons have been handed to law enforcement agents.”
The Nation
