U.S. CDC and Benue Governor Commission a Molecular Lab

The Acting Country Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), Suzanne Theroux, along with Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia have officially inaugurated the newly refurbished molecular laboratory at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Makurdi in Benue State.

The renovation of the lab was made possible through financial support and technical guidance from the U.S. CDC under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Equipped with state-of-the-art medical laboratory technology, the facility is now capable of conducting HIV viral load and early infant diagnosis testing, as well as molecular tests for other priority diseases such as tuberculosis, COVID-19, hepatitis, and HPV.

During her speech, Ms. Theroux praised FMC Makurdi for becoming a benchmark laboratory for the entire Nigeria and commended their dedication to quality management.

It was emphasized that the high-quality data generated by the lab will not only enhance integrated service delivery for patients at healthcare facilities but also bolster the state's ability to detect and respond to disease outbreaks.

FMC Makurdi currently processes over 200,000 patient samples annually, positioning it as one of the leading molecular labs in the PEPFAR-Global Fund-supported molecular lab network.