Health minister commends NCDC over National Reference Laboratory

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, on Thursday, visited Nigeria Centre for Disease Control National Reference
Laboratory in Gaduwa, Abuja, as part of his routine visits to departments and agencies under Federal Ministry of Health.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the NRL is the apex Public Health Reference Laboratory of the country and has the mandate to coordinate
diagnosis of diseases of public health importance.
Ehanire said that the visit was to ensure that departments and agencies that were key to the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration
improved the health of Nigerians.
During the visit, the minister went round the facility and interacted with staff diagnosing infectious diseases in the country.
The minister also observed operations at the molecular laboratory, the HIV mega-laboratory, the biorepository and other critical areas of the laboratory.
He expressed delight at the progress made by the NCDC NRL since 2017, noting that “public health is a major government priority in Nigeria. We are very proud that this facility exists and provides critical laboratory functions for the country. We will continue to prioritise its development as an important asset to the nation”.
He congratulated NCDC on the integration and collaboration achieved across agencies and disease programmes in the health sector.
The Director General of NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, shared the centre’s progress and vision for a strong public health laboratory structure in the country.