By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti
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Ekiti State Government has inaugurated a zonal public health laboratory capable of testing and diagnosing any form of communicable diseases, with a call for greater attention for public health facilities.
Speaking during the official commissioning of the facility located within the premises of Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, the Governor of the State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, said the facility is a product of the partnership between Ekiti State Government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to provide and ensure timely and precise diagnosis of diseases.
Governor Oyebanji, who 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, said 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.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NCDC, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa commended the state surveillance team for their efforts at ensuring effective and efficient control of communicable diseases in the state through proactive and rapid responses to outbreaks.
Dr Adetifa noted that as part of the surveillance responsibility of NCDC, the Centre had started the process of digitalizing the surveillance system in the country using the platform called Surveillance Outbreak Response Management Analysis System (SORMA).
He added that the idea behind the whole surveillance system was that SORMA would be deployed in every health facility and laboratory nationally to have efficient digital awareness in terms of what is going on in Epidemiology of the diseases that were rampant in the country.
Also, 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 .
Dr Filani then said that the laboratory is a guarantee that there is no ailment anywhere that cannot be diagnosed and be treated here in Ekiti.
