Former CACOVID Centre Becomes LASUCOM Academic Facility As Lagos Expands Training
Kehinde Adeleye
Lagos State Government has converted the former CACOVID Centre at Mainland Hospital, Yaba, into an academic facility for the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), turning a facility once used in the COVID-19 response into a centre for training healthcare professionals.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this on Wednesday during the handover of the renovated facility, saying the state plans to increase its annual healthcare training capacity from fewer than 500 students to about 2,500 within the next 4 to 5 years.
Abayomi said the expansion was necessary to address the shortage of healthcare professionals in the country, which he attributed partly to the migration of medical workers and limited capacity for local training.
“While everyone talks about brain drain, Lagos State is focusing on brain gain,” the commissioner said.
He said the strategy would create more opportunities to train healthcare professionals locally while also encouraging Nigerian professionals abroad to return with the skills and experience they have acquired.
According to Abayomi, the repurposed facility has added 315 laboratory positions, 520 lecture seats and about 169 seminar seats to LASUCOM’s existing capacity.
He said the expanded infrastructure would enable the institution to train more pharmacists and other healthcare professionals as Lagos works to strengthen its health workforce.
The commissioner also disclosed that the state government was working towards establishing a standalone University of Medicine and Health Sciences, adding that the enabling bill for the institution had already been passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The Provost of LASUCOM, Prof. Olufemi Idowu, described the conversion of the facility as a welcome development for the institution.
The institution’s Deputy Provost, Prof. Sunday Soyemi, said the additional space would help address about 30 per cent of LASUCOM’s existing space challenge.
The facility was originally constructed in 2019 as a COVID-19 isolation centre before being renovated and expanded into an academic facility.
The repurposing means the former emergency healthcare facility will now serve a different role, providing additional space and infrastructure for the education and professional development of healthcare workers in Lagos.
