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| L-R: The U.S. CDC acting country director, Suzanne Theroux assisting the Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia to cut the ribbon during the commissioning of the new molecular laboratory, while other dignitaries watch, at the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi. |
The acting country director of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), Suzanne Theroux and Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State recently inaugurated the newly renovated molecular laboratory at Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Makurdi, Benue State.
The lab underwent renovation, thanks to funding and
technical assistance from the U.S. CDC via the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Due to its advanced medical laboratory technology, the
laboratory is now capable of conducting HIV viral load and early infant
diagnosis testing, as well as molecular tests for other priority diseases such
as tuberculosis, COVID-19, hepatitis and HPV.
Theroux highlighted that FMC Makurdi is now a model lab for
the rest of Nigeria and commended their dedication to quality management. The
high-quality data generated by the lab not only supports integrated service
delivery for patients at healthcare facilities but also enhances the state’s
ability to detect and promptly respond to disease threats.
FMC Makurdi currently processes over 200,000 patient samples annually, positioning it as one of the leading molecular labs in the PEPFAR-Global Fund-supported molecular lab network.