The federal government has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kano Independent Research Centre Trust (KIRCT) to improve healthcare services and boost the share of locally manufactured healthcare products in Nigeria.
The national coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Dr Abdu Muktar, and KIRCT Director General Prof. Hamish Salihu signed the agreement after the PVAC team toured the facility.
The partnerships aimed to make KIRCT a regional hub for clinical trials in Nigeria and Africa.
In his remarks, Dr Muktar said they would work together to mobilise financial resources to build human capacities and talent and upscale the centre.
He lamented the country‘s high import dependency on vaccines and therapeutic medicines, stressing that the federal government has set a 2030 target to reverse this trend and produce at least 70 percent of essential products.
„Right now we import about 70-80 per cent of therapeutics that we use as essential medicine, almost 100 per cent of vaccines, 99 per cent of medical devices, including test kits and all products, including bed nets.
„By 2030, we want to revise that to be able to produce at least 70 per cent of the essential products, vaccines, and essential health products used in this country.
„What we want to do is to build the ecosystem that includes policies, regulations, building the right infrastructure, the human capital and the right talent and the research and development capabilities across the country,“ he stated.
While noting that their visit was to assess their research capabilities, focusing on basic science and translational research, he described the centre as „the best kept secret in the Nigerian healthcare sector“ due to its infrastructure, equipment, and personnel.
Earlier in his remarks, KIRCT DG Prof. Salihu said the centre has established a BSL-3 laboratory—the first private top-notch TB laboratory centre. This laboratory will conduct BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene tests for breast cancer and tuberculosis point-of-care tests.
He also hinted at the centre‘s intention to start a local manufacturing of IV fluids and accessories with the aim of reducing medical tourism and fostering economic reliance on the country.
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