Increase in medical research funds announced

The Guardian Nigeria 02 May 2020

As part of an effort to support the Nigerian federal government’s drive against the COVID-19 pandemic, officials of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) have announced plans to fund research by talented medical experts in the nation’s universities as a short-term medical palliative in the fight against coronavirus, writes Sunday Aikulola for The Guardian Nigeria.

The executive secretary of the fund, Professor Suleiman Bogoro, added that the agency is also looking at the possibility of how the research could lead to a breakthrough in the World Health Organization’s certified vaccine against COVID-19, infectious diseases and other diseases that lead to more deaths. Specifically, Bogoro added that the initiative would also go a long way to consolidate the new research and development strategy in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

President Muhammadu Buhari approved the sum of NGN5 billion (US$12.8 million) for research purposes last year and this was increased to NGN7.5 billion in the 2020 budget. A former lecturer in the department of mass communication of the University of Lagos, Professor Idowu Sobowale, said if TETFund is to fund research, it should select people with experience and history. The pandemic, he said, has opened the country’s eyes to its inadequacies in several areas.
Full report on The Guardian Nigeria site

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