Janet Ogundepo
Stakeholders at the international gathering of biomedical professionals in Lagos State have identified research as the heartbeat of any country’s development and called for more attention and domestic funding for indigenous research.
They emphasised that under the right circumstances and more research funding, Nigeria could become a powerhouse of discovery and development.
The professionals made this known at the opening ceremony of the 14th edition of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research International Conference on Health Advances, Innovation and Research held at NIMR in Yaba, Lagos State, on Thursday.
In his welcome address, the Director-General of NIMR, Prof John Obafunwa, stated that the conference would provide evidence-based policy decisions to strengthen health systems, foster health security, and facilitate the exchange of innovative research ideas for national and regional health advancement.
He noted that evolving public health issues were factors threatening global health aside from the challenges of climate change consequences and natural disasters.
The don further stated that these problems exposed the need for investment into research to ensure the formulation of appropriate policies that would change the current public health narrative.
“Public health problems including weakened healthcare systems, outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, reluctance to receive vaccines (like the HPV vaccine), the evolving burden of antimicrobial resistance, food safety and malnutrition, non-communicable diseases, mental health and substance abuse, environmental pollution, and so many more await multidisciplinary research efforts, investment and collaboration.
“The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research continues to uphold her mandate through research into health problems that translate into policy and contribute positively to changing the narratives of the public health landscape in the country, region and globally,” he said.
Obafunwa emphasised that the NIMR had continued to break new ground through strategic health research inventions, innovation, collaborations and community engagement.
“However, we are aware that the time to uphold this mandate is now, especially considering the current national economic challenges that call for the promotion of local contents discouraging importation to improve national health and well-being,” the don said.
The pathologist praised the institute’s contributions and achievements in the development of Diagnostic Test kits for infectious diseases such as Mpox and COVID-19, stating that the LASSA fever vaccine, which was being developed in Nigeria by Nigerian scientists, was at the completion stage.
He further thanked public and private institutions in and beyond Nigeria, such as the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Japanese Government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Australian and Canadian governments who were working with NIMR towards combating the threats to health and wellness.
The DG also said, “All hands must be on deck to collectively deliver a society where the full benefit of health research translates into improved health.”
Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the event, the NIMR DG praised the promised support of the Lagos State government, stating that this would enable the agency to conduct more research into infectious diseases, other areas of public health concerns including the prevalence of malaria and new disease pathogens.
“These are some of the areas that the Lagos State government can assist us with. Again, in the area of vaccine production that NIMR is trying to get into, a lot of work is being done in genomics. There’s a lot that we can do, and I’m trying to seize the opportunity of the fact that we are in Lagos State and with the financial backing and goodwill of the government and agencies in Lagos State, there’s so much to do,” Obafunwa said.
The don expressed determination to achieve as much as possible during his tenure.
On his part, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, stated that research was important to any country’s development.
He further mentioned that the resources channelled into research and the partnership with public health institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic led to reduced mortality rates and a still-standing economy.
“We emphasised how Lagos and Nigeria were able to shield Nigerians and Lagosians during a time of tremendous global shock and threat, and yet our economy didn’t take a dive. We recorded some deaths, but nothing near what happened around the world.
“So it was as a result of the activity of institutes like NIMR, LASUTH and LUTH, working very closely with the Ministry of Health and with the governor being the commander, he understood the importance of putting resources behind research to understand what COVID is likely to do to our citizens and likely to do to the economy.
“So any country or any government that fails to appreciate the importance of research is planning to fail as a government,” Abayomi said.
The Commissioner further committed to strengthening the ties between Lagos State and the Federal Ministry of Health, to ensure Lagos residents enjoyed the benefit of the rich diversity of research in NIMR and promoted them for impact across the country and the sub-region.
The don also stated that although there was inadequate investment in research, the situation was getting better.
“We are not investing enough in research at the moment but we are getting better. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, and former Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, understood it and they have started to push for more funding for research. The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also understands that and he is pushing more funding into research,” he said.
Continuing, Abayomi noted, “But in a country where we have multiple priorities that we need to deal with, we are careful as a government that we don’t put all our funding into one basket. So as our income increases, as the country, as our Internally Generated Revenue increases, we are beginning to see the importance of promoting and funding more local research to produce solutions for local problems.”
The keynote speaker for the conference, the Former President of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and Professor at the Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine the University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, Akinsanya Osibogun, emphasised the role of research in providing evidence for prevention and diagnostic strategies for the proper management and control of public health diseases.
He urged researchers to share their findings through publications, presentations at scientific conferences and seminars, and public awareness campaigns through the media.
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