The National Institute of Health Research Global Surgery Unit (NIHR GSU) Nigeria Hub has successfully transformed the landscape of surgical research, training and patient care in Nigeria over the past decade.

Speaking on the milestone, the Nigeria Hub Director, Prof. Adesoji Ademuyiwa,
announced that the initiative has stood as a beacon of excellence in advancing surgical care across the country since its inception in 2016.

As the official funding rounds for the collaborative draw to a close this June 2026, the Hub leaves behind a legacy of groundbreaking clinical trials and enhanced healthcare capacity.

Prof. Ademuyiwa, who also serves as a Professor of Surgery at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL) and an Honorary Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), reflected on the monumental shift the Hub brought to the region.

“In all of these 10 years, we have recorded a lot,” Ademuyiwa stated. “Before the NIHR Global Surgery Unit was formed, most of our research had been single-institution-based retrospective research because there was no funding to support large, prospective, randomized controlled trials. It was NIHR, to my understanding, that supported the first international, multi-centre, randomised controlled trial in surgery in which Nigerian surgeons were actively involved.”

Ademuyiwa said that the Hub recorded the following trials and studies since its existence in Nigeria.

The FALCON trial with recruitment target of 5788 participants across all centres and Nigeria contributing 2165, (37.4 per cent) of participants in Nigerian 12 centres.

The CHEETAH trial, the second global surgical trial from NHIR GSU network with recruitment target of 12,800 participants from 64 clusters, Nigeria contributed 2,679 participants (20.1 per cent) across 16 centres.

The PENGUIN trial, third surgical randomized clinical trial with 12,942 recruitment target, with 15 centres recently concluded recruitment across the globe including Nigeria. The results of this trial are being awaited.

The Hub Director said that other trials and studies are GlobalSurg 1, GlobalSurg 2, CovidSurg, ASOS-Paeds,HIPPO study, CAMELs study and Enhanced Monitoring Using Sensors After Surgery (EMUs).

Ademuyiwa said that the hub has supported several observational studies, looking at mortality that occurs after surgery and they have looked at cancers and cholecystectomies.

He said that some of them are the biggest in the history of mankind noting that in the GECKO study which looked at outcomes following cholecystectomies across the world, over 50,000 patients were recruited across the world – largest of such inquiry in the history of mankind.

“We are currently looking at appendicitis in the ALLIGATOR study, which is also likely to recruit similar numbers across the world.

“These studies have also assisted in recommending change to our surgical practice. Like the CHEETAH trial, we were able to show that change gloves and instruments at closure of fascia and skin reduces surgical site infection by about 15% and the Federal Ministry of Health has incorporated this into the Surgical Safety checklist across federal hospitals in Nigeria.

 

The Hub Director mentioned that the model of the collaboration in the NIHR GSU is very unique as it allows for inclusion of LMIC partners from conception to publication of research findings thus building research capacity with some LMIC researchers leading publications in high impact journals. This model is also different from earlier models where HIC partners organise surgical outreaches without adequate investment in capacity building of the LMIC partners.

He announced that capacity building remained a major achievement of the NIHR GSU collaboration leading to the training of more than 500 surgeons and surgical residents in Good Clinical Practice and research, 600 Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) trained in stoma care and surgical site infection identification, 100 medical students in data management, 150 medical students in laparoscopic skills, and more than 1000 students mentored at a medical student led conference.

He said that there were a couple of challenges, but the Hub was able to overcome them all.

The Hub Director, however, commended the management of the University of Lagos, the College of Medicine of the University and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital for their assistance in overcoming the challenges and for providing accommodation for the Data Centre, the Simulation Centre and Research office.