Int’l Travel portal: Payment for COVID-19 tests goes to private labs – NCDC

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says in spite of the fact that it hosts the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP), in its domain, all funds for COVID-19 testing purposes are paid through the bank to accredited private laboratories.  NCDC Director-General, Ifedayo Adetifa, in a statement yesterday, said no funds from private testing were received […]

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says in spite of the fact that it hosts the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP), in its domain, all funds for COVID-19 testing purposes are paid through the bank to accredited private laboratories.

 NCDC Director-General, Ifedayo Adetifa, in a statement yesterday, said no funds from private testing were received by the agency.

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He was reacting to concerns expressed by Nigerians regarding the NITP as well as COVID-19 testing pre- and post-arrival in Nigeria. 

 He noted that said the NITP, developed by the private sector, is managed by Nigerians in the public sector as one of several measures introduced to limit the risk of importation and spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

 “Despite challenges in the functionalities of the site, mostly related to payments using foreign cards, we have continued to work extremely hard on its improvement,” he said.

He said COVID-19 testing in government laboratories remained free of charge for public health purposes.

He, however, noted that tests for personal purposes such as travel were paid for by individuals to be conducted in private laboratories.