A new repository laboratory at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s Central Public Health Laboratory in Yaba, Lagos has been commissioned.

The U.S. consul general, Will Steven, alongside senior public health officials in Nigeria, commissioned the biorepository laboratory in Lagos on Thursday.

The expansion, staff training, medical equipment and supplies of the biorepository were supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through COVID-19 CARES Act funding.

A statement by the U.S. Consulate in Lagos on Thursday said the medical equipment and supplies were donated to counter and control diseases spread in Nigeria.

Mr Stevens said that the new facility will support Nigeria’s disease control efforts through the cataloguing and storing of blood samples for future use, such as testing to improve the detection and surveillance of new, emerging, and reemerging diseases. 

He said that the equipment will support Nigeria’s health sector and prepare the nation for “future epidemics and pandemics responses.”

Mr Steven highlighted the U.S.-Nigeria partnership with the health institutions to implement key public health programs, evaluate disease surveillance and response efforts, and contribute to reinforcing the existing public health infrastructure in Nigeria. 

“Since 2004, the United States and Nigeria have partnered to improve laboratory networks, systems, and services. These collaborations have consistently yielded results as the nation’s laboratory capacity continues to grow in quantity and quality,” Mr Steven said.

The biorepository laboratory project was implemented in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria