Stakeholders in the laboratory profession have called on the Federal Government to urgently review the law guiding the practice.
The stakeholders also advised the federal and state governments to put more funds into laboratory research.
They added that this will help to stem the capital flight crisis the country is facing due to foreign medical trips by some Nigerians.
The stakeholders made these calls during the celebration of 2024 World Laboratory Day by Independent Laboratory Owners Association of Nigeria (SoTLAN) from the South West, in Lagos on Tuesday.
SoTLAN President, Professor Olugbenga Ogunmoyela who was represented at the event by the first Vice President, Mr Bolawa Gbolahan, while speaking, said the government should review the practice in the interest of Nigerians.
He also advocated the need to “build a testing culture by Nigerians” adding that the “laboratories play a vital role in ensuring the quality and safety of products, safeguarding public health and fostering economic development”.
He asked the “federal and state governments to fund laboratory researches to broaden the frontiers of public health and reduce capital flight in the medical industry”.
“Together, let us strive to overcome challenges, embrace opportunities and continue driving progress in the field of analysis for public health and laboratory science in general”.
Chairman of the occasion, Mr Ademilola Adebayo, maintained that the future of public health depended on laboratory of now and years to come.