By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

Nigeria’s healthcare sector is set for a major transformation as Shalina Diagnostics unveiled an ambitious plan to establish 500 diagnostic testing points across the country within the next three years, a move aimed at addressing what experts describe as the weakest link in the nation’s healthcare system.

The company announced the expansion drive at its two-day Healthcare Franchise Summit in Abuja, where healthcare stakeholders, investors and medical professionals gathered to discuss strategies for improving access to quality and affordable diagnostic services.

Speaking at the summit, Managing Director of Shalina Diagnostics, Mr. Abbas Virji, said the company ventured into diagnostics to bridge Nigeria’s huge testing gap, which he noted has contributed to delayed diagnoses, poor treatment outcomes and preventable deaths.

According to him, inadequate access to reliable laboratory services remains one of the greatest challenges facing healthcare delivery in the country.

“Diagnostics laboratories are currently the weakest link in the healthcare chain,” Virji said.

“There are simply not enough laboratories providing quality services that people can trust. Many Nigerians are unable to access accurate tests because of high costs, poor quality, or lack of convenience. We are determined to change that.”

He disclosed that the three-year-old diagnostics company, an offshoot of Shalina Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, is seeking franchise partners nationwide to drive its expansion agenda and make quality testing services more accessible to communities.

Under the franchise model, partners will operate collection centres and laboratories linked to Shalina’s central reference laboratories equipped with advanced diagnostic technology.

Virji explained that increasing the number of collection centres would allow the company to lower testing costs through economies of scale.

“The power of communities coming together under one system is how we solve this challenge. By having more collection points and greater scale, we can make quality diagnostic testing affordable for millions of Nigerians,” he said.

He added that the franchise opportunity is open not only to healthcare professionals but also to investors interested in entering the medical sector.

“We will provide the compliance support, quality assurance systems and operational guidance required. Our goal is to build a nationwide network that delivers trusted results quickly and affordably,” he stated.

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer of Shalina Diagnostics, Mr. Nalin Singla, identified three major challenges confronting Nigeria’s diagnostic landscape: insufficient laboratories, the high cost of services offered by premium diagnostic chains, and widespread distrust of many local laboratories due to inconsistent quality and delayed results.

To address these concerns, he said the company has adopted a hub-and-spoke model anchored on three core principles — Quality, Affordability and Availability.

Under the arrangement, samples collected at franchise centres will be processed at Shalina’s advanced reference laboratories, while results will be delivered electronically within stipulated turnaround times.

Managing Director of Shalina Healthcare Nigeria, Ms. Opeyemi Akinyele, said the diagnostics expansion aligns with the company’s long-standing commitment to improving healthcare outcomes across Nigeria.

“We are anchored on three pillars — Quality, Affordability and Availability — and we remain committed to ensuring better health outcomes for every Nigerian,” she said.

Akinyele noted that Shalina Healthcare has built a strong reputation over nearly three decades in Nigeria through popular pharmaceutical brands such as Shal’Artem, Ibucap, Germol and Epiderm, while earning the confidence of regulatory agencies and professional bodies, including NAFDAC, the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria and the Nigerian Medical Association.

Highlighting the medical importance of diagnostics, Associate Professor of Surgery and Consultant Surgeon at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Dr. S.A. Sani, described laboratory testing as the foundation of modern healthcare.

“Diagnostics influence about 70 per cent of all healthcare decisions. They guide prevention, screening, treatment and monitoring. Without diagnostics, clinicians are essentially flying blind,” he said.

Shalina Diagnostics is backed by Shalina Healthcare, a pharmaceutical giant with more than four decades of operations across Africa. The group currently operates in 18 African countries, maintains 108 distribution depots, and has established a significant footprint in Nigeria, where it has operated for 27 years, working with over 17,000 healthcare professionals, running a one-billion-tablet manufacturing facility in Lagos, and maintaining more than 150 NAFDAC-registered products.

Industry stakeholders at the summit expressed optimism that the planned rollout of hundreds of diagnostic centres could significantly improve early disease detection, reduce healthcare costs and expand access to quality medical testing, particularly in underserved communities.