By Nick Ibe

The Federal Government has been urged to prioritise investment in smart diagnostics, disease surveillance and laboratory infrastructure. This was the advice of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) as members commenced the 19th Annual Public Health Lecture and national executive council (NEC) meeting in Enugu.

The laboratory professionals also stressed that the Federal Government’s national security and universal health coverage cannot be possible without a strong medical laboratory system in place.

The theme: “Smart Diaygygnostics: The Role of Medical Laboratory Scientists in National Security and Universal Health Coverage,” which guided deliberations further stressed that medical laboratories were the country’s first line of defence against infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, bioterrorism and emerging public health threats.

The lab professionals noted that accurate diagnosis remained the foundation of effective healthcare, evidence-based policymaking and national preparedness.

Chairman of the occasion and Provost of the Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology, Professor Nkereuwem Etukudoh, said Nigeria was at a defining moment in the evolution of medical laboratory science, urging government at all levels to recognise diagnostics as a strategic national asset rather than a support service. In his words:
“There can be no health security without diagnostic security, and there can be no national security without laboratory intelligence. Every solution to our healthcare challenges begins in the laboratory. No laboratory results, no treatment; no data, no policy; no diagnosis, no security.”
He described the recent passage by the National Assembly of the bill establishing the Federal University of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology, Jos, as a historic milestone that would position Nigeria as Africa’s leading centre for specialised medical laboratory education, research and innovation.
Etukudoh appealed to President Bola Tinubu to promptly assent to the legislation, as the proposed institution would produce highly skilled manpower for disease surveillance, biotechnology, diagnostics, postgraduate training and universal health coverage across the continent.
The provost further stated that smart diagnostics required investment in skilled professionals, accredited laboratories, digital health systems, quality assurance and policies that integrate laboratory medicine into national development planning.
He warned that pandemics, antimicrobial resistance and emerging pathogens posed threats comparable to conventional security challenges, saying, “The first line of defence against these threats is the medical laboratory scientist. We identify the enemy before it strikes and provide the evidence that drives treatment, policies and national response.”

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Dr. Donald Ofili, in his contribution, proposed a reform agenda aimed at strengthening regulation, transparency, institutional integrity and patient safety within the profession.
Ofili argued that the council’s transformation agenda would reposition it as a regulatory body digitally driven, transparent and globally respected institution. In his words:
“Regulation is not an obstacle to professional growth; it is the foundation of public confidence. Every reform we pursue must ultimately answer one question: Does it improve patient safety? If the answer is yes, we will pursue it with determination.”
The MLSCN boss warned tertiary institutions against unethical practices during accreditation exercises, including borrowing laboratory equipment or presenting temporary personnel as permanent staff, saying such actions undermine educational quality and endanger patient safety.
He also urged practitioners to embrace ethical conduct, continuous professional development, quality management systems and strict compliance with regulatory standards, while directing that all council payments be made only through approved channels to eliminate fraud.
Earlier, the National President of AMLSN, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi, said modern medical laboratories had become indispensable to disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness, genomic intelligence, blood safety, emergency response and precision medicine.
He noted that although Nigeria continues to battle infectious diseases, rising cases of antimicrobial resistance,d non-communicable diseases and the migration of healthcare professionals, strengthening laboratory systems remains one of the most effective strategies for addressing the challenges.
“Universal Health Coverage cannot be achieved without Universal Medical Laboratory Coverage. Before treatment, there must be testing. Before intervention, there must be evidence. Before policy, there must be data,” he said.
Ifeanyi lamented that millions of Nigerians, particularly those in rural communities, still lack access to quality laboratory services because many primary healthcare centres operate without functional diagnostic facilities, leading to delayed diagnosis, poor treatment outcomes and preventable deaths.
He urged the Federal Government to develop a National Medical Laboratory Diagnostics Strategy, expand laboratory networks, invest in molecular diagnostics, genomic surveillance and local production of diagnostic reagents, while strengthening research and recognising medical laboratory scientists as indispensable partners in national development.
The AMLSN president commended President Tinubu for ongoing reforms in the health sector and expressed optimism that the president would soon sign into law the bill establishing the Federal University of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology, Jos.
He also acknowledged state governments, particularly the Enugu State government, for investing in healthcare infrastructure, human capital development and digital governance, describing such interventions as essential to building a healthier, safer and more prosperous Nigeria.
At the event also, a keynote lecture was delivered by the Medical Director of the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu, Professor Emmanuel Iyidobi, on optimising laboratory systems for improved healthcare delivery and national security.

The event attracted medical laboratory scientists, healthcare professionals, policymakers, academics and stakeholders from across the country.

By Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women’s Health Watch

If you hear the term “longevity” and think only about living longer, you’re missing half the point.
“What we actually want is both more years and more of those years lived in good health,” says Dr. David Barzilai, a longevity physician and the medical editor of Harvard Health Publishing’s Special Health Report Pathways to Longevity.

“Almost no one wants additional years of frailty and dependence; they want more years of feeling well, moving freely, thinking clearly, and staying engaged with the people and work they love.”

To that end, recent years have seen an explosion in interest in longevity and healthy aging, largely driven by “science that’s genuinely more exciting than it was a decade ago,” says Dr. Barzilai, also a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

Lifestyle integral to longevity

While it’s clear that genetics play a role in living longer and staying healthy, lifestyle appears to be just as important. Five lifestyle patterns consistently show up in longevity research: movement, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and social connection.

Stress Management: Enhance your well-being by reducing stress and building resilience

Stress is inevitable. From frustration with traffic to fear brought on by a health scare, stress constantly intrudes in our lives. But the consequences of stress don’t have to be inevitable as well. You can counteract the damaging effects of stress by calling upon your body’s rich potential for self-healing. Stress Management, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School, gives you the tools you need to limit and lessen stress. With this insightful and instructive report, you’ll master skills that can help you repel the consuming effects of stress and reclaim and restore inner peace.

“Good health is surprisingly unglamorous,” Dr. Barzilai says. “What matters most are the basics people already know about but rarely execute consistently over decades. There is no magic to it.”

Here, Dr. Barzilai expands on each of the five pillars of longevity.

Movement
Movement is the closest thing people have to a “master signal,” he says. “It improves nearly every system at once, from insulin sensitivity to brain health to bone density. And cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest predictors of mortality we have ever measured.”

Dr. Barzilai recommends combining various forms of movement to maximize health, including twice-weekly resistance training and 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week. “And everyday movement counts on its own,” he says. “Breaking up long stretches of sitting with two to three minutes of light activity measurably improves glucose and blood-pressure responses.”

Nutrition
Nutrition shapes the metabolic environment our cells live in day to day, governing blood glucose, inflammation, and the raw materials for muscle and repair, Dr. Barzilai says.

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“The principles that have held up across decades of research are unglamorous and durable: build meals around whole foods,” he explains. “Get enough protein, which becomes more important, not less, as you age. And avoid the large blood glucose spikes you get from refined carbohydrate eaten on its own, which in practice means anchoring meals with protein, healthy fats, and fiber.”

Sleep
Sleep is fundamental to longevity because that’s when the body takes care of essential maintenance — clearing metabolic waste from the brain, consolidating memory, and resetting the hormones that govern appetite and stress, Dr. Barzilai says.

Experts recommend adults get seven to eight hours each night. Research also shows that consistency matters more than quantity. “That is encouraging,” he says, “because a steady wake time, weekends included, is something most people can actually manage.”

Stress reduction
Stress itself isn’t a problem, since our body’s acute stress response — which sharpens focus and fuels energy levels — can protect us from genuine threats.

“The trouble comes when it never switches off,” Dr. Barzilai says. “Chronic stress holds the body in a low-grade alarm state that, over years, wears on the cardiovascular and immune systems, disrupts sleep and metabolism, and appears to accelerate several of the underlying processes of aging.”

Healthspan vs. Lifespan
We’re living longer than ever—but are we living well?

Harvard Medical School’s Special Health Report, Pathways to Longevity, looks beyond “anti aging” hype to share what science really says about extending your healthspan—the years you stay strong, independent, and mentally sharp.

From nutrition and movement to sleep, stress, social connection, and the latest longevity drugs, this report turns complex research into clear, practical steps you can start now.

The most dependable ways to regulate stress are physical and social rather than purely mental, he says. “People reach for a relaxation app and overlook that movement, sufficient sleep, exposure to daylight, and time with people they trust are often the more powerful levers. Regular exercise in particular is one of the best-validated stress and mood interventions we have.”

Social connection
Social connection is probably the longevity pillar people neglect most, Dr. Barzilai says. “People will track their macros and their step count to the decimal and never think to protect their friendships with the same intentionality, even though the survival data on relationships rival the data on much of what they are measuring,” he says.

If you’re feeling isolated, try to make connecting with others a regular commitment rather than a grand gesture, he says. “Begin with one recurring, low-pressure point of contact: a standing weekly call with one person, a class or volunteer commitment that puts you in the same room with the same faces again and again, a daily walk somewhere you will see neighbors. Pick one recurring contact and protect it like an appointment, and treat a few real relationships with the same seriousness you would give your blood pressure or your exercise.”
Which pillar of longevity is most important?
The habits most strongly linked to living a longer, healthier life are also some of the simplest: move regularly, eat well, sleep sufficiently, manage stress, and stay connected to others. But which one counts most? It’s impossible to gauge, says Dr. David Barzilai, a longevity physician and lecturer at Harvard Medical School.

“How much each pillar matters depends heavily on where a given person is starting from,” he says. “For someone sedentary, adding movement is transformative. For someone running on five ragged hours of sleep, fixing sleep will do more than another workout. For someone isolated, rebuilding connection may be the highest-yield change of all.”

“What I can say with confidence is that the most underrated pillar is social connection, and the most foundational day to day are sleep, physical activity, and nutrition, since they are the ground the others stand on,” Dr. Barzilai adds. “But the useful question is not which pillar wins in the abstract. It is which one you are personally weakest in right now, because that is where your next improvement will pay off most.”

—To boost manpower in Health sector

By Son Tertsegha, Abuja

As part of efforts to address Nigeria’s inadequate healthcare professionals and improve the country’s health sector workforce, the Federal Government has increased annual admissions into nursing schools from about 20,000 to 50,000 students.The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has said.

Alausa disclosed this during an interview with journalists on Sunday, saying the expansion of nursing admissions formed part of broader education reforms aimed at producing the skilled workforce required to drive President Bola Tinubu’s vision of building a $1tn economy by 2030.

The minister said the government was deliberately investing in human capital development by expanding access to professional education in critical sectors.

“We want to be the manpower supplier of the world. We need to produce competent, skilled and educated young Nigerians who will drive our economy, contribute to Africa’s growth and compete successfully across the world,” Alausa said.

He explained that the Federal Government had aggressively expanded admissions into health-related programmes to bridge long-standing shortages of healthcare workers.

According to him, annual enrolment into nursing schools has risen from about 20,000 students before the current administration assumed office now taking it to approximately 50,000 students. He added that admissions into medicine, pharmacy and dentistry have also been significantly increased.

The minister expressed confidence that the reforms would substantially reduce the shortage of healthcare professionals within the next few years as thousands of newly trained graduates join the workforce.

“As the President advances his vision of building a one trillion-dollar economy, education will remain at the centre of that transformation,” he said.

Alausa attributed the expansion to President Tinubu’s commitment to education and human capital development, describing education as the foundation for sustainable economic growth.

The minister also reiterated that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund was designed to remain financially sustainable beyond the current administration.

“There is no value in introducing policies that cannot stand the test of time. Sustainability is central to this administration’s philosophy, and that principle guided the design of NELFUND,” he said.

He further said the administration had restored industrial harmony in tertiary institutions through dialogue with academic and non-academic staff unions, noting that improved stability was contributing to better outcomes in the higher education sector.

Nigeria has faced a persistent shortage of nurses and other healthcare professionals, due largely to years of underinvestment in training and the increasing migration of health workers to countries offering better remuneration and working conditions. The trend has placed additional pressure on the country’s healthcare system, particularly at the primary and secondary healthcare levels.

To reverse the shortage is why the Federal Government has expanded admissions into nursing and other health-related programmes while also investing in Technical and Vocational Education and Training and other human capital development initiatives