The Aliko Dangote Foundation, in partnership with pan-African molecular diagnostics company 54Gene, has set up a laboratory in Kano State with a capacity to carry out 400 COVID-19 tests per day.

The lab was inaugurated this week and will start with a testing capacity of 400 tests a day, before increasing to 1,000 tests a day by May 10. It is set up at Muhammadu Buhari Hospital in Kano, where an isolation center is currently operational. Prior to this development, 54Gene had set up labs in Lagos and in Ogun States, with accreditation from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote said the foundation is directly supporting the Nigerian Government’s virus containment efforts in Kano State. Also, this new investment, which is in support of increasing nation-wide testing, comes in addition to the Foundation’s support through the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) led by the Central Bank.

Read more on: Nairametrics