Revitalizing Healthcare, Renewing Hope: Nigeria Leads Regional Push for Diagnostic Innovation and Local Production
At the Abbott Infectious Disease Summit 2025, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has reiterated Nigeria’s leadership in public health transformation, calling for urgent regional collaboration to expand access to diagnostics, boost local manufacturing, and accelerate disease elimination across Central, West, and East Africa.
According to a statement by Alaba Balogun, the Ministry’s Head of Information and Public Relations, the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Kachollom S. Daju, on behalf of the Coordinating Minister, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, declared the summit open and delivered Nigeria’s reform-driven message.
She emphasized that the summit’s objectives
aligns with the Country’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) for health system strengthening.
“This summit is timely. Diseases like HIV, TB, Malaria, and Viral Hepatitis remain major threats in our region. Rapid, decentralized diagnostics—especially Point-of-Care testing — are not just innovations; they are lifelines,” the Permanent Secretary said.
Daju commended Abbott Rapid Diagnostics for hosting the three-day summit, which brought together public health leaders, innovators, and global partners united by a common goal: a healthier, more resilient Africa.
She called on global health manufacturers to collaborate with Nigeria’s Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), launched in 2024 to support local production of medical supplies.
The initiative offers policy incentives such as zero tariffs and waivers on inputs and machinery to drive domestic manufacturing of diagnostics and therapeutics.
Stakeholders Call for Action and Innovation:
Highlights from the summit’s opening day which attracted high-level participation across Africa include:
*Senator Dr. Ipalibo Banigo, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, stressed the urgency of accelerating Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) efforts and announced recent updates to the NCDC Act to improve infectious disease surveillance.
*Aziz Abdi, Regional GM for Central and West Africa at Abbott, noted that Nigeria accounts for nearly half of the region’s HIV burden, while commending national efforts to scale up testing and strengthen health equity.
*Dr. Adebobola Bashorun National Coordinator, NASCP, revealed that Nigeria has increased treatment coverage for HIV, TB, and malaria to 60%, with a notable drop in mother-to-child HIV transmission.
*Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, National Coordinator of PVAC, announced that Nigeria has signed an MoU to commence local production of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) as part of its health industrialization agenda.
*Dr. Temitope Ilori, Director-General, National Agency for the control of AIDS, NACA, affirmed that local RDT production would bolster laboratory capacity and reiterated Nigeria’s 2030 target for zero new HIV infections.
*Regional Solidarity, Global Support Development partners including the World Health Organization (WHO), Society for Family Health (SFH), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and the Institute for Human Virology expressed commitment to deepened collaboration, integrated programming, and peer learning for infectious disease control.
As the summit continues over the next three days, participants were charged to pursue actionable, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes that address Africa’s health security and access challenges.
“The time to act is now. Through innovation and collaboration, we can build a healthier, self-reliant Africa,” Prof. Pate’s message concluded.
