*Said Nigeria’s health index is low because of poor funding
The Director General of the National Institute of 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 percent of medical research in Nigeria is funded by donors, he then called for regular and annual budget allocations for the council from the Basic Health 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 the poor health index for Nigeria is due to insufficient funding for health research and the health system itself.
He noted that the most modern and successful countries have functional research and development councils funded by health research funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health in the United States and the Medical Research Council in England.
He added that only a few African countries have a body like this that allocates funds specifically for medical research.
Salako lamented that medical research in Nigeria has not been adequately funded even though the government funds research through TETFund but TETFund is limited to Universities.
He said that research on health has been proven to contribute to human development in terms of higher life expectancy, and good health indices, such as maternal and infant mortality.
He said: “This index is poor for Nigeria because of insufficient funding for health research and the health system itself. Health research provides innovation, solutions, drug development and program opportunities that will improve the country’s health index.
“The best thing that can happen in Nigeria is to create our own medical research council, which will help fund health research in the country so that we can provide local solutions through discovering the herculean health challenges in Nigeria, developing our own medicine.”
According to him, “Research should also be seen as a business, so private practitioners are encouraged to finance research. Research is the main tool to improve the country’s standards and through research, you can develop your own medicines and vaccines. Research is important to improve human development and also must respond to health, social, ecological and agricultural challenges. There is a need to establish
direct funding for health research in Nigeria through the Medical Research Council specifically”, Salako emphasized.
He stressed that “NMRC will produce high-quality research that translates into policy adoption and research that results in economic prosperity and national development.”
The NMRC was first established as the Medical Research Council in 1958.
Salako believes that it will be easier to get the amendment bill back to the MRC than to create a new MRC altogether. We make a case for the amendment of the NIMRC Act to simply return to its original vision.
“The impact will be felt in improved health indices, some direct grants to Nigeria, some locally funded projects and the use of policy briefs from research evidence innovation”, he added.
The Chairman, 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 emphasized the need to transform the Nigerian 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 is a need for a body that can stand up for the country and attract resources for funding research for the country, stressing that with well-focused research, the country can increase foreign earnings for Nigeria.