The Federal Government has described medical diagnostics as a strategic national asset, saying stronger testing capacity is essential to Nigeria’s ability to detect diseases early, respond to public health threats and make informed healthcare decisions.
The 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 remained critical not only to the treatment of individual patients but also to disease surveillance and broader public health decisions.
He said Nigeria’s pursuit of what he described as diagnostic sovereignty must go beyond simply manufacturing medical tests locally. According to him, the country also needs stronger research and innovation, technology transfer, effective regulation, sustainable procurement and strategic partnerships to ensure that quality diagnostic services are available and affordable.
“The Federal Government recognises diagnostics as a strategic national asset,” Salako said.
The minister’s position comes as Nigeria seeks to reduce its dependence on imported medical products and strengthen domestic capacity across the health sector. The Federal Ministry of Health has previously identified local production, stronger supply chains and improved health-security systems as important components of ongoing health-sector reforms.
For medical laboratories, reliable access to diagnostic tests and equipment is particularly important during disease outbreaks. Testing helps health authorities identify infections, monitor the spread of diseases and determine appropriate responses. Weaknesses in laboratory infrastructure, supply chains and access to essential diagnostic materials can therefore affect how quickly health threats are detected and contained.
The National President of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors, Dr Samuel Fele, used the conference to call for an end to what he described as Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imported diagnostic reagents, consumables and equipment.
Fele said the country needed to build a competitive local manufacturing industry capable of serving both the Nigerian market and the wider African market. He said the African in-vitro diagnostics market was valued at $1.33 billion in 2024, while demand for point-of-care and rapid diagnostic products was increasing.
He stressed, however, that increasing local production should not come at the expense of quality. According to him, Nigeria needs an end-to-end diagnostics system connecting research, innovation, manufacturing, regulation, quality assurance, distribution, laboratories, healthcare providers, patients and health data.
“If any link in this chain is weak, the entire system remains vulnerable,” he said.
Fele also called for stronger quality-management systems, regulatory oversight, proficiency testing and compliance with recognised standards. He argued that Nigeria should move beyond repeatedly discussing import dependence and begin building the capacity to research, develop and manufacture diagnostic technologies locally.
The issue of local production is particularly significant because Nigeria already has a national framework identifying essential diagnostic tests. A 2022 national essential diagnostics list included 145 tests, providing a policy framework for determining which diagnostic services should be available within the health system. However, research has identified infrastructure, financing, supply-chain limitations and other systemic challenges as obstacles to expanding diagnostic capacity.
The government has also linked medical industrialisation to its broader health-sector strategy, alongside efforts to improve primary healthcare, digital health systems, emergency preparedness and access to essential medical products.
For Nigeria, strengthening diagnostics has implications beyond hospitals and laboratories. Early and accurate testing can support disease surveillance and help authorities identify public health threats before they become larger outbreaks. It can also reduce dependence on external supply chains during emergencies when access to imported medical products may become more difficult.
However, building a reliable domestic diagnostics industry will require more than establishing manufacturing facilities. Regulation, quality control, skilled personnel, research capacity, financing, distribution networks and consistent demand will all be important to ensuring that locally produced tests meet the standards required by healthcare providers and patients.
The Federal Government's latest position therefore places diagnostics at the centre of the country's wider effort to strengthen health security. The challenge now is to translate the emphasis on diagnostic sovereignty into sustained investment, reliable regulation and a domestic production system capable of delivering accurate, affordable and accessible testing to Nigerians.
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