philanthropic endeavor of Aliko Dangote, has contracted 54Gene, a
molecular diagnostics company specialized 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 – May 3rd in Kano, will start
with a testing capacity of 400 tests a day, increasing to 1,000 tests a
day by May 10th.
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 on the efforts of the Foundation to assist the Federal
Government in curtailing the spread of COVID-19, 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 (4
that ae immediately available and 6 over the next week), 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. We are also providing training to them, initially
online and via distance learning, and will complement his with in-person
training in Kano under strict IPC protocols developed in conjunction
with the NCDC.
“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 sanitizers.
“We are expanding the CACOVID communications strategy in Kano by adding
more communications and advocacy around Covid-19 prevention across
radio, TV and traditional and community leaders.”
Commending ADF, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje stated: “There’s
no doubt we started on a shaky foundation, with assistance of ADF, we
can see that a friend in deed is a friend in need. We are very grateful
for the mobile testing Centre witch will launch with 400 samples per day
and after a week, increase to 1,000 tests per day.
“It is now left for us to intensify efforts to collect samples. We will
ensure that all that 44 Local Government Council have collection
centres. Here in the metropolitan local government, we will have 100s
of collection centres because this is where the majority of the
population is”.
The governor added that the state has intensify efforts to create
awareness about the reality of coronavirus.
He commended the Dangote Foundation for always occupying the forefront
of helping in critical times like this.
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.”
Ene-Obong said the company has also helped build capacity by equipping
molecular scientists with the necessary skill set required to handle the
instruments in the mobile lab as they would in regular molecular testing
laboratories.
“Our mobile lab removes the restriction imposed by permanent buildings
and allows us to quickly offer our services to multiple states due to
the ease of transport and the mobile capability it provides”, he added.