The Lagos State Government says it is ready to collaborate with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos, for research that will deepen the government’s health agenda.
The State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi made this known at a two-day NIMR International Conference on Health Advances, Innovation and Research, (NIMRICHAIR), an international gathering of Biomedical Professionals in Lagos.
Prof.Abayomi, who represented Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that the institute and other medical research institutions should conduct and focus on medical research that would have a significant and direct impact on the people and society and, as such, could translate to policy formulation.
“Funding and taking our research product, specimen or data analysis abroad for analysis has to stop. We should collaborate to take our research and data to a high level". Abayomi
He said, “We waste significant resources on this, but what we need is significant and impactful research for our medical improvement.”
The Director-General Oladapo Obafunwa, who expressed joy at the collaboration, explained that the institute is ready to renew its relationship with the Lagos State Government to take advantage of such synergy for improved medical purposes in the health sector.
A fellow of the Medical Research Foundation from the University of Ilorin, Dr Basiu Afizu, who received the award at the event, said that the programme was very crucial to the growth of the medical research institute.
He noted that the award came as a surprise and described the programme as an interesting one, which he believed had greatly broadened ned the horizon of everyone present.
Afizu explained that Nigeria loses more than one billion naira annually in the GDP to malaria, which is a current topic, and the research work is evidence that more work needs to be done to eliminate malaria from Nigeria by the year 2030.
Another fellow who received an award of recognition, Director of Research and consultant paediatrician at the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, Mrs Agaba Nkiruka, said that the Programme had given her a boost.
"We gather a lot of students, both interns and sites; we are not a primary teaching institution but a medical research institute'.
She expressed dismay that despite the importance of research to any country, most people are still not in tune with what research stands for, pointing out that research demands a lot of funds,s, which does not come easy. " but despite the challenges, researchers still put their best to ensure maximum improvement.
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