The Federal Government and the Japanese Government have signed a $18.2m agreement to strengthen the capacity of the Nigerian Centre for Disease control for accurate medical and laboratory investigations.
The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yutaka Kikuta, during the signing ceremony, said that the agreement was to support the NCDC to strengthen its surveillance of infectious diseases and improve its capacity for early responses to public health concerns in Nigeria.
He said the fund would be expended on such projects as the construction of a central public health laboratory in Lagos as well as the procurement of equipment to eight laboratories in different locations.
The locations, according to him, were the Central Public Health Laboratory in Lagos; LUTH Virology Laboratory; National Hospital, Abuja; University College Hospital, Ibadan; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State; UBTH, Benin; and University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
