Follow Us on Google
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has called on the Federal and state governments to prioritise investment in medical laboratory infrastructure, workforce development, research and local production of diagnostic tools to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The association made the call in its Independence Day message issued on Thursday by its National President, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, stressing that no country could achieve universal health coverage, health security and medical self-reliance while neglecting medical laboratories and the professionals responsible for generating critical diagnostic evidence.
In the message titled, “Nigeria at Independence: Strengthening Medical Laboratory, Securing Our Health Future,” Ifeanyi said medical laboratory scientists remained central to virtually every aspect of healthcare delivery, despite the profession not receiving commensurate investment and policy attention.
He said accurate diagnosis, successful surgeries, outbreak control and safe blood transfusion all depended on the work of medical laboratory scientists, who often operated behind the scenes to provide the evidence needed for medical decisions.
According to him, Nigeria must move beyond rhetoric and deliberately invest in the laboratory medicine sector as part of efforts to build a resilient and self-reliant health system.
“We call on Federal and State Governments, policymakers, development partners, and the private sector to invest deliberately in medical laboratory infrastructure, workforce expansion, local production of diagnostics, research, and quality systems,” he said.
The AMLSN president also challenged Nigeria to reduce its dependence on imported diagnostic innovations and develop its own capacity to produce knowledge, technologies and diagnostic solutions for the country and the wider African continent.
He described this as more than a health sector agenda, saying it was a national development imperative.
Ifeanyi urged medical laboratory scientists themselves to contribute to the transformation by upholding professional excellence, integrity and innovation, while strengthening institutions, supporting scientific research and embracing emerging technologies.
He noted that advances in genomics, precision medicine, artificial intelligence and digital diagnostics were rapidly changing healthcare and placing medical laboratory science at the centre of the transformation. “With visionary leadership and sustained investment, Nigeria can become Africa’s diagnostic hub,” he said.
He called for a Nigeria where citizens, irrespective of their location, could access timely, accurate and quality medical diagnostic laboratory services.
The AMLSN president said the country’s next chapter should be defined by purposeful action, scientific excellence and national progress rather than unrealised potential.
“The future of healthcare will be shaped by diagnostics, and the future of diagnostics will be shaped by medical laboratory scientists. The moment to act is now,” he said.
He congratulated Nigerians and members of the profession at home and in the diaspora on the country’s 66th Independence Anniversary, describing independence as not only a celebration but also a call to national renewal and purpose.
