This phenomenon made healthcare delivery cumbersome and wholesomeness is not easily achieved.

Equally, Africa’s healthcare systems have long grappled with structural vulnerabilities, limited local manufacturing capacity, dependence on imports, and fragile supply chains.

These challenges were brought into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, when global disruptions exposed the continent’s heavy reliance on external sources for critical medical supplies.

Yet, amid these challenges, a quiet transformation has been underway laced with innovation, foresight, and the strategic deployment of technology.

At the center of this transformation is the growing adoption of in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturing across Africa, championed by companies like Codix Bio.

Long before the pandemic, Codix had identified the urgent need for local healthcare manufacturing and took a bold step with the establishment of Colexa Biosensor in 2017.

This move was not reactive, but strategic, anticipating a future where Africa would need to take greater control of its healthcare value chain.

The COVID-19 crisis accelerated this vision. As borders closed and access to essential diagnostics became constrained, local manufacturing shifted from a long-term ambition to an immediate necessity.

In response, Codix fast-tracked the development of Colexa Biosensor, which has since become a landmark facility, the first manufacturer of blood glucose meters and test strips in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, and only the second of its kind on the continent after Algeria.

This milestone brings to the fore a broader shift: technology is no longer just a support function in healthcare, it is now central to building resilience, ensuring access, and improving outcomes.

By leveraging advanced biosensor technology and automated production systems, facilities like Colexa Biosensor are reducing dependency on imports while improving the availability of essential diagnostic tools for millions.

Global collaboration has also played a critical role in accelerating this progress. Organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) have been instrumental in facilitating technology transfer and expanding access to critical health innovations.

Through the WHO’s Health Technology Access Programme (HTAP), Codix was identified as a key partner in strengthening Africa’s manufacturing capacity.

A major breakthrough came via a sublicensing agreement brokered by MPP, enabling Codix Bio to access and deploy cutting-edge rapid diagnostic test (RDT) technology from SD Biosensor.

This partnership builds on a long standing relationship between the companies, dating back to 2009, and represents a powerful example of how global expertise can be effectively localised.

The implications of this are profound. With local production of rapid diagnostic tests and other IVD tools, African countries can respond more swiftly to disease outbreaks, improve early detection rates, and strengthen overall public health systems.

Beyond healthcare outcomes, this also drives economic value, creating jobs, building technical expertise, and fostering industrial growth.

However, the journey is far from complete. To fully realise the potential of technology-driven healthcare solutions, Africa must continue to invest in infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and human capital.

Governments, private sector players, and development partners must align efforts to create an enabling environment that supports innovation and scale.

What is clear, however, is that the narrative is changing. Africa is no longer just a recipient of healthcare solutions, it is becoming a producer, an innovator, and a critical player in the global health ecosystem.

With technology and embracing local manufacturing, the continent is laying the foundation for a more resilient, self-sufficient, and equitable healthcare future.

The event also marked the unveiling of OnPoint Blood Glucose Meter & Strips duly evaluated, approved, and registered by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The official opening ceremony held at the company’s office in Ilupeju, Lagos, serves as a springboard to different health issues in Africa.

This flagship product addresses the prevalence of diabetes in Africa by manufacturing blood glucose meters and strips for millions of people living with the disease to help in combating the disease and raising awareness on early detection and management to aid recovery and wellness.

With an installed capacity of 3.6 million packs and an opportunity to scale up to 10.8 million packs annually, the company is poised to meet local demand and export, starting with its subsidiaries across West Africa, with the added advantage of reducing the need for foreign exchange in procuring raw materials.

In his opening address, Mr. Sammy Ogunjimi, the executive chairman, Colexa Biosensor Limited, stated that with the firm’s focus on Africa and with Nigeria as its base, it aims to extend its solution throughout Africa and the world and contribute its efforts to correcting the deficit in the balance of trade and to raising the volume of exports to improve the foreign exchange situation.

He said,

“We aim to localize and backward integrate to reduce our dependence on imports and this factory is the first step towards achieving that goal. As a testament to our utmost desire to ensure consistent product and service quality, we are happy to announce that this factory has received 2 Quality Management System certifications – 1st the ISO 13485:2016 (IVD) Certificate, and the ISO 9001: 2015 (process) certificate. We have also received a successful independent comparative evaluation of OnPoint BGM with the market gold standard through the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN). Colexa Biosensor Limited will provide direct employment for over 700 staff and several more indirectly”.

In his keynote address, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, reiterated the commitment of FG to patronize local manufacturers of healthcare products and ensure the prevention of spending the country’s short supply of foreign exchange on importation of pharmaceutical products that can be produced locally.

“Our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, sees it as unacceptable that 99% of medical devices and more than 70% of our generic pharmaceutical equipment in Nigeria are imported. The Federal Government will purchase locally manufactured diabetes test kits because we know that diabetes is a very significant cause of morbidity in our country. We are committed to developing our healthcare industry to contribute to the African healthcare market by providing the critical commodities and services that will optimize the health of our populations, ensure our health security and retain all the economic value in our country”, he said.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the occasion, Prince Julius Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi, a former Minister of Health, urged the government to ensure an environment that enables companies like Colexa Biosensor to thrive and remain sustainable.

Some of the ways he proposed that the government can support them include the patronage of the products and total removal of import duty on pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment, raw materials, and accessories, rather than having to apply for Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) each time, which sometimes take up to two months.

In her goodwill message, Prof (Mrs.) Mojisola Adeyeye, the director general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), spoke about the attainment of Maturity level 3 by NAFDAC as a major opportunity that would ensure that quality products from Nigeria are accessible and acceptable to African Countries.

She hailed Sammy Ogunjimi and Lekan Asuni for their vision of ensuring that the country can meet its local consumption of IVD products.

Featured Image Caption:

(L-R) Member, House of Representative, Abuja, Hon. Karu Simon Elisha; Former Minister of Health, 2010-2014, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu; Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof (Mrs.) Mojisola  Adeyeye; Hon. Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate; Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole;  Founder and Chairman Juli Pharmacy PLC and Chairman of the occasion, Prince Julius Adewale Adelusi-Adeluyi; Executive Vice Chairman, Colexa Biosensor Limited, Pharm Olalekan Asuni; Executive Chairman, Colexa Biosensor Limited, Mr. Sammy Ogunjimi; National Coordinator of National AIDS and STDs Control Programme (NASCP), Dr Adebobola Bashorun; Hon Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, Prof Akin Abayomi and Director General, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Gambo Aliyu during the unveiling of Onpoint Blood Glucose Meter and Strips at the commissioning of the Colexa Biosensor Limited Factory, the First In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) Factory for Blood Glucose Meters and Strips in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Lagos Nigeria]