ERHABOR ASSURES OF HIGHEST QUALITY STANDARDS, AS IVD LAB IS RE-ACCREDITED

The Registrar/CEO, Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria, Dr Tosan Erhabor has
reassured Nigerians of the commitment of the Council to upholding the highest
quality standards in the Council’s facilities across the country. He was reacting to
the recent re-accreditation of the Public Health In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD)
Laboratory owned by the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria in Yaba,
Lagos.
According to him, the IVD laboratory, the first of its kind in the West African sub
region, was first accredited to the ISO 17025:2017 standard by the Nigeria
National Accreditation Service (NiNAS) in 2021, and was due for re-accreditation
two years after. The Registrar further noted that, “The accomplishment attests to
MLSCN’s commitment to upholding the highest quality standards and its
unwavering dedication to excellence in the specialized field of in vitro diagnostics
and other relevant areas. Although we have made a lot of progress in establishing
the necessary framework for continuous quality improvement in our facilities,
including the IVD Lab in Lagos, External Quality Assurance Lab in Zaria, Kaduna,
and the National Laboratory Equipment Calibration Centre at the headquarters in
Abuja, we’ll not rest until the entire health laboratory system is repositioned to
function optimally, in line with global best practices.”
He also recalled that, as part of the re-accreditation process, the IVD Lab
underwent a rigorous and meticulous review of the attached Scope of
Accreditation. “The comprehensive document,” he added, “meticulously outlines
the specific tests and calibrations that are encompassed by the accreditation with
the primary objective of ensuring that all information presented by the laboratory
precisely aligns with the accredited scope, further bolstering confidence in the
reliability and accuracy of their services.”
While commending the staff of the IVD Lab for their dedication to duty, which
ensured that the facility was successfully re-accredited, Erhabor described the ISO
17025:2017 standard as an indispensable tool globally accepted as a benchmark for
evaluating the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, adding that, by
achieving this prestigious accreditation, the laboratory has demonstrated once

again, its capacity to consistently deliver precise and reliable results. One of the
benefits of the re-accreditation is that it further instills trust in the laboratory’s
services and contributes to the overall advancement and enhancement of the
nation’s healthcare landscape.