The Lagos State Government has formally signed a five-year Blood Screening and Certification Concession Agreement with private concessionaires and Roche Products Ltd, marking a decisive move to standardize screening standards, elevate quality assurance, and eliminate transfusion-transmissible infections across public health facilities.
The strategic partnership, signed on Tuesday at the Ministry of Health in Alausa-Ikeja, brings advanced automated technology to blood processing while establishing a rigorous performance-based framework to protect patients statewide.
Government Oversight Crucial for Lifesaving Services
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Commissioner for Health Professor Akin Abayomi highlighted the unique nature of blood management, describing blood as a “liquid organ” that demands absolute precision and strict public oversight.
“We are working towards two goals simultaneously: meeting the growing demand for blood and ensuring that every unit carrying the Lagos State logo is safe. When people see that certification, they must have complete confidence that the blood has passed through the highest professional screening standards,” Prof. Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health stated.
Abayomi emphasized that the state deliberately partnered with reputable private concessionaires and global original equipment manufacturers to detect infections like HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Syphilis with modern diagnostic tools that narrow the risk window. He further urged healthy residents to become regular voluntary blood donors to support mothers, newborns, and emergency surgical patients.
Rigorous Public Procurement Drives Reform
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Dayo Lajide, revealed that the concession agreement emerged from an extensive public procurement process involving rigorous technical, financial, and legal reviews.
According to Lajide, the initiative aligns directly with the health and environment pillar of the state’s THEMES+ Agenda.
“The true success of this agreement will be measured by the quality, reliability, and safety of services delivered to the people of Lagos State,” she stated.
Modernizing Infrastructure with Global Standards
Providing background on the policy shift, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service (LSBTS), Dr. Bodunrin Osikomaiya, explained that the expiration of the previous agreement in June 2023 presented an opportunity to fix operational gaps such as uneven screening capacity, discordant test results, and weak traceability.
The renewed framework has expanded into a comprehensive 97-page performance-based agreement. Under the deal, Roche Products Ltd will supply fully automated, WHO-compliant diagnostic systems via a reagent rental model, while the state maintains full regulatory oversight.
Stakeholders Pledge Technical Support and Commitment
Industry partners expressed strong support for the long-term collaboration. Speaking for the concessionaires, Adetunji Kolawole-Moradeyo, CEO of Banner Diagnostics, commended the government’s two-decade commitment to blood safety while requesting additional operational space to deploy the high-tech equipment effectively.
Reaffirming corporate support, Roberto Taboada, General Manager of Roche Products Ltd, stated that Roche’s direct local presence, engineering team, and supply-chain infrastructure will ensure uninterrupted reagent delivery and technical maintenance throughout the five-year period. Closing the event, Dr. Olajumoke Oyenuga, Director of Healthcare Planning, Research, and Statistics, expressed confidence that the public-private partnership marks the beginning of a safer, more accountable era for healthcare in Lagos State.
Share this
