Lagos State has converted the former CACOVID COVID-19 isolation centre at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba, into a training facility for pharmacy students as part of efforts to address the shortage of healthcare professionals.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this on Monday in a post on his X handle, saying the renovated facility had been handed over to the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) for use by its Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
According to him, the facility has 315 laboratory workstations, 520 lecture hall seats and 169 seminar seats across six departments.
Abayomi said the development was part of the state government’s broader strategy to increase the production of healthcare professionals and reduce the impact of migration on the health sector.
He said Nigeria’s healthcare workforce deficit was driven by the emigration of professionals, historically low training capacity and population growth.
The commissioner said Lagos was pursuing a “brain gain” strategy through expanded local training and reforms to healthcare financing, aimed at improving the retention of skilled professionals and encouraging those abroad to return.
He added that the Lagos State House of Assembly had passed a bill to transform LASUCOM into a standalone University of Medicine and Health Sciences, to be known as LASUMAH. The bill is awaiting the governor’s assent.
According to Abayomi, the proposed university would increase annual admission capacity for health-related courses, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry and medical laboratory science, from about 500 to 3,000 over five years.
He said the state was also preparing its 30 general hospitals, more than 300 primary healthcare centres and 10 maternal and child centres to serve as clinical training facilities.
The plan includes establishing training hubs, providing student accommodation and improving logistics across the state’s five IBILE zones: Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe.
Abayomi said a first-phase infrastructure audit had identified three facilities for immediate transformation: the former COVID-19 isolation centre at IDH, Yaba; the Cardio-Renal Centre at Gbagada General Hospital; and the main LASUCOM campus.
He said the conversion of the Yaba facility had been completed under the supervision of the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency (LASIAMA).
The commissioner also said the state was pursuing demand-side healthcare financing reforms to narrow the gap between local and international healthcare markets, improve the retention of professionals and strengthen financial protection for vulnerable residents through cross-subsidies.
The initiative is part of Lagos State’s efforts to expand healthcare training capacity and strengthen its health workforce amid concerns over the migration of Nigerian medical and other healthcare professionals abroad.