Medical laboratory scientists vow to tackle national health security threats 

The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has vowed to tackle the growing threats to national health security.

Speaking at the 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association in Owerri, the AMLSN President, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, stressed the need for urgent action to address these challenges.

He noted that while resources are being mobilized for kinetic approaches to physical security, a lot needed to be done to address national health security.

Ifeanyi described health security as the bedrock of national security and called on President Bola Tinubu to assemble health experts for insight into national health security issues.

“There are many conversations about mobilisation of resources for kinetic approach to national security but the conversations about national health security, which is the bedrock of national security, has become compromised.

“A security meeting by the National Security Adviser should have health security experts in attendance to provide insight into national health security threats,” he said.

Medical laboratory scientists’ role in health decision-making 

Describing medical laboratory scientists as vital contributors to healthcare, Ifeanyi stated that as the second critical stakeholder of health globally, medical laboratory scientists provide over 70 percent of the data required for medical decisions and over 80 percent of data required for medical planning.

• He advocated for stronger investments in laboratory services and research to improve Nigeria’s health outcomes.
• He commended the president for the Executive Order on local production of diagnostics and pharmaceuticals for affordability by Nigerians, saying that the guideline for its optimization should become commonplace.

“As a nation, we must strengthen our laboratory services, by strengthening collaborations between contingent states and improving investments in medical laboratory research,” he said.

Addressing brain drain in the health sector 

The AMLSN President also addressed the challenge of medical brain drain confronting the country.

• Ifeanyi, argued that the policy document launched by the Federal Ministry of Health to address the brain drain facing Nigeria’s health workforce, “is a step in the right direction, but seeks to frustrate health workers from leaving the country rather than addressing the real reasons for their exodus”. 
• He frowned at the section of the policy which, he said, denies health workers a leave of absence.

He described it as “a violation of public service rules by the government, which only tends to frustrate rather than discourage”. 

He urged the adoption of a more holistic and people-friendly approach to addressing brain drain, aligned with existing laws.