Get Guardian on GoogleTHE Academy of Medical Sciences has called on the Federal Government to begin strategic preparations for future pandemics, warning that continued underinvestment in health research, particularly biomedical research, will leave Nigeria poorly equipped to contain the next major outbreak.
The Academy noted that Nigeria remains stuck in a reactive mode, relying on foreign sources for vaccines while other countries are investing heavily in biomedical research to prepare for future threats.
A professor of Orofacial Clefts at Lowa University, United States (U.S.), Azeez Butali, while speaking at the Academy’s 2026 yearly scientific conference themed: “The Genetics and Genomics of Non-communicable Diseases: Integrating Science into Clinical Care,” in Lagos, said Nigeria must move beyond reactive responses to disease outbreaks and begin investing in research that would enable it to develop homegrown solutions.
He questioned Nigeria’s continued reliance on early detection and screening, noting that little has changed in the country’s approach to combating Ebola 12 years after the 2014 outbreak.
Butali, who attributed the challenge not to the shortcomings of medical practitioners but to the government’s failure to adequately invest in biomedical research, including human genome research, stressed that increased government investment in the sector would also reduce the cost of medicines and improve access to locally developed treatments.
He noted that genome studies had allowed scientists to identify genetic variants linked to thousands of diseases and traits, noting that every genomic discovery has the potential to become tomorrow’s therapy
In his remarks, the foundation President of the Academy, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, expressed concern that Nigeria had so far identified only about two per cent of its genomic-related disease burden, leaving many genetic conditions undiagnosed and potentially preventable.
He, therefore, called on the government to prioritise healthcare investment, stressing that the health of a nation’s population was fundamental to its economic prosperity.
