The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), has contracted 54Gene, a molecular diagnostics company specialised in research, and diagnostics, to immediately set up a 400 test/day capacity laboratory in Kano State.
54Gene is accredited by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and has already set up labs in Lagos and in Ogun States.
The lab, which was inaugurated yesterday in Kano, will start with a testing capacity of 400 tests a day, increasing to 1,000 tests a day by May 10, 2020.
The lab will be set up at Muhammadu Buhari Hospital in Kano, where an isolation center is currently operational.
The president/chief executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote said the foundation is directly supporting the Nigerian government’s Covid-19 containment efforts in Kano State.
According to Dangote, this new investment in support of increasing nation-wide testing, comes in addition to ADF’s support through the Private Sector Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACOVID).
He explained, “CACOVID is already setting up a 310 bed isolation center at Sani Abacha stadium in Kano. We are extending that capacity by another 150 beds at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre in Kano, which is being converted into an isolation center now. These two centers will be operational pending the final validation by the Infection Prevention and Control team, which we expect will be completed in the coming days.”
Dangote pledged the Foundation’s commitment to reduce the number of lives lost to diseases, such as COVID-19, Ebola and other deadly viruses in the State.
He said the foundation would not relent in using its investments in health, education, and economic empowerment to help lift people out of sickness and poverty.
Speaking also, the managing director/chief executive officer of ADF, Zouera Youssoufou, added that ADF is also supporting the Rapid Response Teams in their work to identify suspected covid-19 cases across the healthcare centers in Kano.
“ADF will immediately handover to the Kano RRT, 10 new ambulances, two vehicles and PPEs to support the transportation of patients from different parts of the state,” she said.
She said that the Foundation is also supporting the Kano State Covid-19 contact call center that responds to citizen queries and concerns around Covid-19 and refers people to the proper place for follow up, by providing extra phone lines and ICT infrastructure as well as training for the call center staff.
On training, she disclosed, “We are supporting training and incentives for covid-19 health workers. We will provide hazard incentives and protections for the healthcare and lab workers who are working on the covid-19 response.
“ADF will continue to provide PPEs to the Kano State Covid-19 Taskforce, which will then be distributed to the hospitals as appropriate. Items already supplied include coveralls, gloves, masks, respirators, goggles, boots and sanitisers.”
Speaking on the collaboration, the founder and chief executive officer of 54gene, Dr Abasi Ene-Obong, the 40ft structure built with container technology, provides a unique plug-and-play solution.
Ene-Obong explained that the mobile laboratory is also fully kitted with vital instruments including an autoclave, bio-safety cabinet, centrifuge, heating blocks, vortexes, pipettes, and PCR machines to support COVID-19 testing.
He stated, “Our mobile lab is fully equipped with all the vital instruments required for COVID-19 testing, and allows us to quickly offer our services to multiple states due to the ease of transport. Its unique plug and play feature eliminates the logistics of shipping samples to another location for the processing which reduces turnaround times for test results and allows clinicians to manage and treat patients accurately, sooner rather than later.”