NIMR boss, House panel seek etablishment of Medical Research Council

*Says Nigerian health indices low due to poor funding

The Director General of, the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Prof Babatunde Salako, has called for the establishment of a medical research council to fund health research in the country and provide local solutions to health challenges.

Noting that almost 90 per cent of medical research in Nigeria is donor-funded, he further called for a regular and yearly budgetary allocation to the council from the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF).

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting organized by the institute in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) yesterday in Abuja, Salako said that health indices are poor for Nigeria due to inadequate funding for health research and the health system itself.

He noted that most modern and successful countries have functional research and development councils anchored by a health research funding agency such as the National Institute of Health in the United States of America and the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom.

He added that only a few African countries have this kind of body providing funding specifically for medical research.

Salako lamented that medical research in Nigeria has not been adequately funded even though the government is funding research through TETFund but TETFund is restricted to Universities.

He argued that research in health has been proven to contribute to human development in terms of higher life expectancy, and good health indices, like maternal and infant mortality.

He said: “These indices are poor for Nigeria due to inadequate funding for health research and the health system itself. Health research provides innovations, solutions, drug development and programme opportunities that will improve the nation’s health indices.

“The best thing that can happen to Nigeria is for it to create its own Medical research council, which will help fund health research in the country in order to provide local solutions through the finding of herculean health challenges within Nigeria, develop our own drug.”

According to him, “Research should also be seen as a business, so private practitioners are encouraged to fund research. Research is a major tool for improving the standard of the country and through research, you can develop your own drugs and vaccines.“ Adding: “Funding health research is still poor in Nigeria; research is essential for improving human development and also required to respond to health, social, ecological and agricultural challenges. There is a need to establish
direct funding for health research in Nigeria through a dedicated Medical Research Council”, Salako insisted.

He stressed that “NMRC will engender high-quality research that translates into a policy adoption and research resulting in economic prosperity and national development.”

The NMRC was first established as a Medical Research Council in 1958.

Salako believed that it will be easier to request an amendment Act back to MRC rather than creating a new MRC altogether. We are making a case for an amendment to NIMRC Act to simply return to its original vision.

“The impact will be felt in the better health indices, a number of direct grants to Nigeria, a number of locally funded projects and use of policy briefs from research evidence innovations”, he added.

Chairman of, the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sunnu, said that research is not given priority in Nigeria and as a result, is not adequately funded

He stressed the need to transform the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research into a Medical Research Council that can be more effective and coordinate funding for medical research in the country.

Sunnu stated that there was a need for a body that can stand for the country and attract resources for research funding for the country, stressing that with well-focused research, the country can improve its foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria.