The Lagos State Government, with the support of the global fund through the Resilient and Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) grant, has upgraded eleven laboratories towards international standards.
The initiative, spearheaded by the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, held at the Dover Hotel Lekki phase 1, from 13 to 17 April, underscores efforts of the state to strengthen its healthcare system with a renewed focus on improving the quality of medical laboratory services across the state.
The partnership is designed to address longstanding gaps in laboratory quality management while strengthening the overall health system to ensure resilience, sustainability, and improved service delivery.
As part of the intervention, eleven medical laboratories have been selected for a Quality Management System (QMS) scale-up programme, in addition to ten facilities already enrolled in the first cohort.
The selected facilities include Recovery Medical Diagnostics, Bimade Diagnostic Services, Sango Primary Health Care Centre, Palm Avenue PHC, Epe PHC, Iba PHC, Iga Idugaran PHC, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu PHC, Orile Agege General Hospital, Ifako Ijaye General Hospital, and Alimosho General Hospital.
The programme targets measurable improvements in diagnostic accuracy, reliability, and turnaround time, with the aim of enabling participating laboratories to achieve at least a three-star rating under the World Health Organisation African Region’s Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) by December 2026.
To commence the process, a five-day residential foundation training was organised for laboratory professionals drawn from both public and private health facilities across the state.
To enhance service integration, laboratory focal persons from tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria programmes were also included in the training to strengthen diagnostic services across these priority disease areas.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, RSSH Team Lead, Oluwatosin Ijimakinwa, commended the Lagos State Government for its leadership in healthcare reform and acknowledged the contributions of key officials, including Akin Abayomi and Dayo Lajide.
Ijimakinwa urged participants to apply the knowledge gained during the training to improve laboratory practices in their facilities, noting that the success of the initiative depends largely on commitment at the facility level.
Also speaking, Abiodun Omoloja highlighted the diverse composition of participants and stressed the importance of implementing action plans developed during the training to accelerate the institutionalisation of quality management systems.
The RSSH Laboratory Focal Officer, Aliu Omoh, assured participants of continuous technical support, while technical sessions were facilitated by experts including Oyenuga Oyebanji, Olufunmilayo Ojo, and Blessing Osazee Airiagbobu, who provided practical guidance on quality systems and process improvement.
The event also featured the celebration of Biomedical Science Day 2026, highlighting the critical role of laboratory professionals in modern healthcare delivery and reinforcing Lagos State’s position as a leader in healthcare innovation in Nigeria.
