Medical Researcher Calls For Equipping Of Enugu Diagnostic Centre

Dr Anselm Odo, the director of All Saints’ Medical Lab, Ogrute, Enugu Ezike, Igboeze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, Sunday, called on the Enugu State government to expedite action towards making the Enugu Diagnostic Centre functional.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with THE WHISTLER, Dr Odo said, “Once the edifice becomes functional, it will serve as a reference centre where most of the samples will be tested, and unified results obtained. There will also be control over results produced by other laboratories. It will also curtail the rate at which our people travel overseas for medical checks, as well as reduce the risks faced by such travellers.

“Again, because the centre is of an international repute, it will network other international laboratories. Such will ensure international best practices down here in Enugu. If we had such during the recent outbreak of yellow fever at Enugu-Ezike, samples would have been swiftly taken to the centre, analysed and if need be, consult relevant international health agencies for immediate action. Such will checkmate the spread of the disease.”

The scientist appealed to the Enugu State government to equip the centre, stating that, “It will yield huge revenue to the state as Enugu will become a medical tourist site. Jobs will also be created for teeming Enugu youths.”

Meanwhile, the commissioner for health, Enugu State, Dr Emmanuel Ikechukwu Obi, says plans are underway to get the diagnostic centre functional next year. Obi, a professor of public health medicine, said the centre, which served as an isolation centre during the heat of the Covid-19 pandemic, was already receiving the attention of the state government in its efforts to provide the best medical services for the residents of the state.

In his words, “Since I came on board, I have focused on the diagnostic centre. I inherited it. It is a big project, started by the past administration. I came in during the Covid-19. Suddenly there was a need for an isolation and treatment centre. And the centre met the criteria, and it was converted to it. We gradually shut it down, and plans to move it to what it is are on top gear. Hopefully, by next year, the centre will start to turn into what it is supposed to be.”

THE WHISTLER reports that the centre was started by the administration of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.