Poised to change the narratives in drug and vaccine manufacturing, which hitherto has over 70 per cent importation rate, Nigerian scientists are set to harness local capacities in developing home-grown solutions towards addressing public health challenges.
The scientists from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and Kano Independent Research Centre Trust (KIRCT), made this disclosure at the signing of a strategic partnership aim at achieving the goal of medicine security in the country.
Speaking at the programme, held on Monday, the outgoing Director General of NIMR, Prof. Babatunde Lawal Salako, said the collaboration would support research into home-grown solutions to address the various health challenges in the countr.
He disclosed that it would also create a viable platform for both organisations to harness its different capacities and capabilities in the area of research.
According to him, “This partnership is key because it will support home-grown grown solutions which can come from products of research.
“In Africa, most of the solutions we have are not from us; our genetic architecture are not taken into consideration in many drugs and vaccine production.
“We see this as opportunity to harness our different capacities and make significant impact in the area of drugs and vaccine production.”
Director General of KIRCT, Prof. Hamisu Salihu, corroborated the views of Salako on the partnership, saying it will significantly improve national response to disease outbreaks, as it aims to expand the bio-medical entity of the country.
With the plan to commence research in Lagos and Kano, which account for about 75 per cent of the health problems of Nigeria, and being the locations of the two organisations, Salihu said they will prioritise diseases like meningitis, malaria, tuberculosis, as well as care for pregnant women, due to the high burden in the states and the country as a whole.
He noted that the collaboration would complement the efforts of the government on medicine and health security.
“If you look at, for instance, the diphtheria outbreak in Nigeria last year, 2023, Kano was responsible for about 70 per cent of the outbreak. So that makes Kano a very important partner, really. And if you do research in Nigeria without touching Kano, it’s superficial, it’s partial.
“This agreement with NIMR will benefit the country greatly because we have realised that NIMR is the foremost and well known research institute in the country.
“The KIRCT is also an independent organisation which have the capacity to expand and its support by the Kano State government and Pfizer pharmaceuticals.We see them as a priority partner with the track record to push us forward in terms of capacity building, visionary direction on some of the local challenges we face in Kano.” He stated.
Prof. Salihu further elucidated on their plans to curb vaccine hesitancy and other unhealthy cultural practices among the people through community-based participatory research, with the engagement of opinion and religious leader.
The Professor of Medicine underscored the essence of community engagement in diseases prevention and treatment, noting that proper enlightenment of the population on the dangers of some habits and the benefits of some medicines or vaccine through their leaders, will go along in fostering compliance.
He said,” We intend to embark on community-based participatory research, community engagement implementation research, where you go into the community, and you bring the community on board. Can you imagine if we have been training community members, they wouldn’t have been the ones even propagating the message of vaccination.
“I think community members, especially opinion leaders, need to be brought right from the start. You don’t just conceive alone in your office, you design alone in your office, and all of a sudden you come and talk to the community. I think that is wrong. The community members must be brought on board from inception to implementation, and that is the path we are going”.
