COVID-19: LUTH

COVID-19: LUTH

An NGO, Centre for Integrated Health Programmes, CIHP, on Tuesday donated laboratory consumables to the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, to scale-up testing for COVID-19 pandemic.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Dr Taiwo Shola, CIHP Senior Officer, Clinical Service, said that the NGO was a leading organisation promoting better health outcomes for all Nigerians through partnership.

Shola said CIHP achieves its mission by working and building capacity of all actors influencing health in Nigeria, ranging from community and traditional leaders, civil society groups, and community health workers.

He said CIHP combines critical local know-how, local experience, local friendships with global evidence-based approaches and innovation to disrupt health challenges in the Nigeria context.

According to him, in line with U.S CDC directives, CIHP commenced support for implementation of U.S Government funded comprehensive HIV programme in Lagos in October 2019.

Shola said, “In furtherance of its mandate to support health systems interventions, CIHP is pleased to partner with the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Lagos.”

He said that the supply of vital consumables, reagents and commodities was to strengthen and scale up COVID-19 testing capacity of the laboratory and help bridge the existing gaps in testing.

Receiving the consumables, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), LUTH, said that LUTH was one of the foremost hospitals in Nigeria, and one of the designated COVID-19 isolation centres.

Adeyemo said that over the past 12 weeks now, the hospital had been supported by the Federal and State Governments, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), WHO and most importantly, the NGOs.

He said that without their supports, the hospital would not know where it was going to be.

Adeyemo added that CIHP had extended its hands of support toward LUTH, noting that it was not their first time.

He said that LUTH really appreciated the laboratory consumables donated by the organisation, adding that the donation was timely and apt.

Also, Prof. Sunday Omilabu, Medical Virologist, College of Medicine, UNILAG, said that consumables were essential things needed in the laboratory apart from the machines.

Omilabu said that consumables were what laboratories needed to collect samples and store samples.

According to him, once you run out of these consumables, work has to stop, and machines would be there waiting for the consumables to be restocked.

He said the irony was that consumables were not reusable, adding that once used, the laboratory would disposed them.

Omilabu explained that the donation was timely, because samples come in hundreds and the laboratory runs 250 to 500 samples daily.

NAN