The Federal Government has identified medical diagnostics as a strategic national asset, calling for stronger local manufacturing, regulation and market development to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported diagnostic products.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, stated this on Wednesday in Abuja while declaring open the 28th Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors.
Represented by the Director and Head of the Medical Laboratory Services Division in the ministry, Dr Emeka Elom, Salako said accurate and timely diagnosis was essential to healthcare delivery, disease surveillance and public health decision-making.
The minister said achieving diagnostic sovereignty would require more than producing medical tests locally, highlighting the need for technology transfer, research and innovation, effective regulation, sustainable procurement and strategic partnerships.
“The Federal Government recognises diagnostics as a strategic national asset.”
Salako added that Nigeria’s diagnostic strategy must build national capacity while ensuring access to quality, affordable and timely diagnostic services.
GMLD Calls for End to Import Dependence
The National President of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors, Dr Samuel Fele, called for an end to Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported diagnostic reagents, consumables and equipment.
Speaking on the conference theme, “From Diagnostic Sovereignty to Market Readiness: Building Nigeria’s End-to-End Diagnostics Ecosystem,” Fele said the priority should now shift from discussing local production to creating an industry capable of competing sustainably in Nigeria and across Africa.
“The question is no longer whether Nigeria can produce the diagnostic products, but whether we can establish a competitive, sustainable, innovative, and quality-assured diagnostic industry capable of serving Nigeria and the broader African market,” he said.
Fele said Nigeria’s dependence on imported diagnostics had contributed to lost opportunities for local employment and industrial development.
He pointed to the $1.33 billion African in-vitro diagnostics market in 2024, alongside growing demand for point-of-care and rapid diagnostic technologies, as an opportunity for Nigerian manufacturers.
However, he stressed that local production must be supported by quality management systems, regulatory oversight, proficiency testing and compliance with recognised standards.
“Diagnostic sovereignty must never come at the expense of quality and standards,” Fele said, while also calling for financing, infrastructure, research grants and procurement systems capable of creating predictable demand for locally manufactured products.
Experts Warn Against Producing Without a Market
Renowned virologist and Chairman of Biovaccines Nigeria Limited, Prof. Oyewale Tomori, said domestic diagnostic manufacturing would not be sustainable without a viable market.
“You cannot have a king without his subjects,” Tomori said, arguing that manufacturers must first understand market needs and develop products capable of meeting them.
He also raised concerns over the prolonged effort to establish local vaccine manufacturing and called for institutional barriers to domestic production to be addressed.
The keynote speaker, Dr Mustapha Gidado, Executive Director of KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, said diagnostic sovereignty should ultimately be measured by its effect on patients.
“Neither sovereignty nor market readiness should be a final destination on its own. The final destination must be the patient,” he said.
Gidado clarified that diagnostic sovereignty did not require Nigeria to manufacture every instrument, reagent or component domestically. Instead, he said the country should have the capacity to determine its needs, assess technologies and guarantee quality.
“Sovereignty is not substandard. Sovereignty is not a quality reduction. Sovereignty is matching the standard,” he said.
Laboratories Central to Disease Surveillance
Medical laboratory scientist Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor highlighted the role of laboratories in identifying infectious diseases, recalling an investigation into unexplained deaths in an Edo community that ultimately led to the identification of Lassa fever.
He said the experience demonstrated the importance of laboratory capacity in responding to public health threats and called for greater unity within the medical laboratory profession.
The conference brought together medical laboratory professionals, researchers, policymakers, regulators, manufacturers and other stakeholders to examine local production, quality assurance, regulation, procurement and access to diagnostic services.
The discussions come as Nigeria seeks to reduce dependence on imported medical products while strengthening domestic manufacturing, laboratory systems and preparedness for disease outbreaks.
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