Former National President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, Dr. Dr. Toyosi Raheem has called on Nigerians to maintain a healthy diet by avoiding some foreign foods.
He made the call during the 2nd Annual Scientific Conference and Workshop held in Kaduna.
According to him, research has shown that 10% of imported food pose a big threat to the health of Nigerians, hence the need for regulatory agencies to ensure proper checks are done before they are imported into the country.
Dr Toyosi Raheem who delivered the keynote address at the conference noted that the call became necessary because 99 percent of deaths and disability rates are attributed to diseases, hence, the need for all hands to be on deck to reduce the trend.
He urged the participants to take time to produce the results of bio-test they conducted to ensure proper diagnosis for eventualities .
Also speaking, Chairman of the occasion Mr. Nambol Listick, stressed the need for Laboratory Scientists to get involved in the process of governance and law making.
Mr Listick, who is the Chairman, House Committee On Health, Plateau State House Of Assembly, said being involved would enable them formulate bills that would safeguard the health of Nigerians.
The Lawmaker said there was need for improved health financing on the part of the government and improved skills and knowledge on the part of the laboratory scientists to build a healthy and wealthy population.
He noted that having the data and process of the health sector would give them an edge over anybody when talking on health matter in the chamber.
Earlier, Chairman of the association in Kaduna, Lawal Taofeek Babsalam said, “at the end of the conference, we do expect that MLSs who are participants would have added to their knowledge to improve on services rendered to the clients and to report in the event of any new pathogen identified through the system that has been made available by government so that we can join hands in managing such”.
Adamu Yusuf