Lagos converts CACOVID Centre to LASUCOM
The Lagos state government has converted the former CACOVID Centre at Mainland Hospital, Yaba to an academic facility for the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) as part of efforts to increase the number of healthcare professionals available to Nigerians.
Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this Wednesday at the handover ceremony of the renovated facility, saying the intervention would help address the shortage of healthcare workers caused partly by migration and inadequate local training capacity.
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Abayomi said the state was targeting an increase in annual healthcare training intake from fewer than 500 to about 2,500 students within the next four to five years.
“While everyone talks about brain drain, Lagos State is focusing on brain gain,” he said, explaining that the strategy would expand local training while encouraging Nigerian professionals abroad to return with acquired skills and experience.
According to him, the repurposed facility has created 315 additional laboratory positions, 520 lecture seats and about 169 seminar seats, significantly expanding LASUCOM’s capacity to train pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
Abayomi said the government was also pursuing a standalone University of Medicine and Health Sciences, with the enabling bill already passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
LASUCOM provost, Prof. Olufemi Idowu, described the transformation as a welcome development, while deputy provost, Prof. Sunday Soyemi, said the facility would address about 30 per cent of the institution’s space challenge.
The project, initially built as a COVID-19 isolation centre in 2019, was renovated and expanded to provide a modern environment for training healthcare professionals.
Source: Blueprint Newspapers
