Lagos seeks partnership with GIDI for disease prevention and control

The Lagos State government has expressed its readiness to forge partnership with the Global Infectious Diseases Initiative (GIDI) as well as with researchers from all over the world in its effort of prevention and control of infectious diseases.

The state government dropped this hint at the 2nd Infectious Diseases Lecture and Telemedicine Launch organized by Global Infectious Diseases Initiative (GIDI) in Lagos on Thursday.

At the event with the theme: “Bridging The Gap in Knowledge and Management of Infectious Diseases in the Developing World,” experts in speciality fields of medicine shared elaborate insight into three major infectious diseases and disease conditions including HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis, and Cervical Cancer, and how these could be nipped in the bud.

In a goodwill message, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health who was represented by the Ministry’s Director of Bio-Security and Global Health, Dr Ismail Abdusalam, stated that the state government is willing to associate with the initiative advising that the conveners should carry the government along in establishing the Telemedicine project in the state.

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According to the Commissioner, the state had established its own Biobank and Biosafety Level-3 Laboratory with a state of the art sequencer which he said were relevant for combating infectious disease cases.

He said “most of these diseases we are talking about here is not only about the diagnosis. With the sequences, we will be able to know the history and then we will go into genomic medicine as well.

“We are ready to partner with researchers from all over the world and collaborate in the use of this laboratory. We have put the laboratory in place to be able to prevent and control infectious diseases. Also, in the area of generics be able to predict beforehand and put the necessary preventive measures in place,” said the Health Commissioner.

Dr Folarin Adegboyega Olubowale, promoter of the initiative, said it was his little way of giving back to the society particularly in his field of medicine with a view of to improving healthcare for patients plagued with infectious diseases in the country.

He stated that the government needs to provide cheap, effective medicare, at least clinics where citizens can access basic healthcare and make sure that the people are not unnecessarily plagued by preventable infections.

He called on the government to make more budgetary provisions for health, pointing out that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.