Experts Raise Alarm Over Sachet Water Safety in Oyo and Better Pay for Lab Workers

(sachet water, laboratory workers photo credit: Punch health wise)
On Thursday, professionals in the fields of research, testing, calibration, education, and manufacturing laboratories criticized the inadequate regulation of sachet water production in Iseyin and the Oke-Ogun regions of Oyo State and requested the Federal and Oyo State Governments to increase laboratory workers' compensation.

This was discussed during the 2026 World Laboratory Day in Iseyin, which was organized by Lab21 Services Limited and the Association of Analytical and Calibration Laboratory Directors. The focus of the event was "Rethinking the Role of Laboratories in Global Health and Development."

They blamed regulatory agencies such the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the Standards Organization of Nigeria, and the Federal and State Ministries of Health, among others.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and Chief Executive Officer of BEREKOTRY Ltd, Iseyin, Taslim Owonikoko, urged governments at all levels to prioritise the remuneration of laboratory workers to curb the rising migration of professionals abroad.

"The expansion of health, manufacturing, education, and other institutions depends on laboratory workers. We might have to keep whining about the shortcomings if the brain drain in the industry continues.

Because of the importance of their income and way of living, having someone overseas is now considered a standard or benchmark, particularly in the medical industry.

"First, the government must acknowledge their significance. It is the responsibility of our government to provide laboratory workers with the compensation they need, and the community should be made aware that people should serve the community for two or three years prior to traveling overseas, he stated. 

Femi Oyediran, the CEO of BEREKOTRY Ltd. and the event's organizer, urged regulators of consumables like sachet water in Iseyin, Oke-Ogun, and the state at large to review their regulatory and monitoring systems in his lecture, pointing out that numerous fatal diseases in the communities have been linked to contaminated water.

The sole tests that NAFDAC and SON administer to producers of sachet water are valid for two years prior to renewal. There are no more inspections of the water produced and sold to the general public during this time.

According to estimates, 1.1 million premature deaths may be avoided each year in low- and middle-income nations if 90% of patients had access to the tests they need for just six conditions. For manufacturers, especially water producers across our communities, there should be regular checks,” he said.

In order to promote human, animal, environmental, and food safety as well as global health security, he urged increased cooperation among stakeholders in the health sector.