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Did Health Minister Say There Will Be Free DNA Tests in Govt Hospitals? Fact Emerges
Nigeria

Did Health Minister Say There Will Be Free DNA Tests in Govt Hospitals? Fact Emerges

by  Nurudeen Lawal 2 min read
  • The Federal Ministry of Health has debunked the claim that there are plans to start conducting free DNA tests in government hospitals
  • The claim which surfaced on Twitter had been circulated by Nigerians across several social media platforms
  • The minister of state for health, Olorunibe Mamora, said the statement did not emerge from the health ministry

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On Monday, January 24, a Nigerian Twitter user, Chijiоke, Ph.D. (@Ekwulu), posted a tweet claiming the Nigerian minister of health said DNA tests will be done for free in every government hospital from June.

The claim has been widely circulated on several social media platforms as Nigerians expressed different reactions to the posts.

Health Minister Mamora Says No Free DNA Tests in Govt Hospitals
Nigeria's minister of state for health, Olorunibe Mamora, debunked the claim on free DNA tests in government hospitals. Photo credit: @NCDCgov
Source: Twitter

DNA testing is done to determine whether someone is the biological parent of an individual. It is usually done when a child’s paternity or maternity is in doubt.

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How true is the claim?

Nigeria has two health ministers; the minister of health Osagie Ehanire and the minister of state for health, Olorunibe Mamora.

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According to a report filed by TheCable, Mamora, minister of state for health, said such a statement did not emerge from him, Ehanire or the health ministry.

There are also no videos or statement on the ministry’s social media pages and website containing such statement.

The statement also was not published by any credible news platform in the country.

To conclude, the claim that the health minister said there will be free DNA tests in government hospitals from June is false. Mamora, minister of state for health, has debunked it.

FG approves COVID-19 vaccines booster for eligible Nigerians

In other news, the federal government of Nigeria through the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 has authorised vaccine booster against the coronavirus for eligible citizens.

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This was disclosed by Dr Faisal Shuaib, the Executive Director of, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), PM News reports.

According to him, the decision was reached in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the agency. He said this is for those that had completed the two doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer Bio-N-Tech or one dose of Johnson and Johnson.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Nurudeen Lawal avatar

Nurudeen Lawal (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) Nurudeen Lawal is an AFP-certified journalist with a wealth of experience spanning over 8 years. He received his B/Arts degree in Literature-in-English from OAU. Lawal is the Head of the Politics/CA Desk at Legit.ng, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. He was named the Political Desk Head of the Year (Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award 2023). He is also a certified fact-checker (Dubawa fellowship, 2020). Contact him at lawal.nurudeen@corp.legit.ng or +2347057737768.

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