The Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Prof. Babatunde Salako, has called for the establishment of a Medical Research Council, to fund research works peculiar to Nigeria.
Salako made the call while speaking at the 2022 retreat organised by the Institute in Lagos, on Tuesday.
He said: “Medical research councils all over the world are in charge of research and research funding for most of their countries to fund research in areas of priorities.
“Creating such a council requires that the government must give funding specifically for health research and look at areas of priorities, where we have challenges and ways to proffer solutions.
“The council, if put in place, can work with the Federal Ministry of Health on research priorities and policy for all medical institutions in the country.”
Salako said the NIMR was set up initially as a medical research council by the government, but was not given the power to fund health research in universities and other research institutions.
“We believe this is why our health indices have remained poor and our health system is not growing as much as we would have expected.
“We can create solutions to our own problem without waiting for donors from outside whose areas of interest may not be our area of challenge,” he said.
Creating such a council requires that the government must give funding specifically for health research and look at areas of priorities, where we have challenges and ways to proffer solutions.
On the retreat, the Director-General said it was initiated to review and evaluate the activities of the Institute in the last one year and strategise for the coming year.
“Every year, we come to plan for next year based on a strategic plan and to review our targets that we set out last year.
“We have continued to improve on the number of grants that we’ve been able to attract externally, while the internal grants are subject to the money we receive from the government,” he said.
Speaking also, the Country Director, Maryland Global Initiatives Corporation, and the guest speaker, Dr Sylvia Adebajo, said there was the need to recognise diversity in all sectors of the country.
Adebajo, who spoke on “Diversity and Inclusion in Modern Workplace,” said such a recognition would enhance team work and promote productivity of staffers in any establishment.
“Inclusion and diversity go hand in hand in ensuring a conducive atmosphere in the workplace.
“There is a need to include them and also ensure that there is inclusion and representation of all those areas within the workplace,” she said.
A report of NIMR’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and NIMR Policy on Research Misconduct & Fraud, were unveiled at the retreat. (NAN)
