Gowon Varsity, Others Unite To Strengthen Sickle Cell Research In Africa

The Yakubu Gowon University through its Centre for Sponsored Projects has partnered with the National Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training (NCESRTA) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) under the PACTS initiative to boost research on sickle cell disease in sub-Saharan Africa.

The acting vice-chancellor, Professor Patricia Lar, who spoke during a workshop organised by NCESRTA in collaboration with Patient-centred Sickle Cell Disease Management in Sub-Saharan Africa (PACTS) and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), expressed confidence that the workshop will provide meaningful studies that can make a real impact.”

The workshop was organised under the theme, “Strengthening Institutional Research Capacity and Safeguarding.”

The vice-chancellor, represented by the senior special assistant on academic matters, Professor Rhoda Mundi, emphasised that research capacity is both a strategic necessity and a public health obligation.
She also stressed the university’s commitment to promoting research for the country’s growth.

On her part, Professor Obiageli E. Nnodu, director of the Centre for Sponsored Projects at UniAbuja, said that over the past few years, the university has witnessed a significant increase in institutional research grants, from just five to over 55 faculty beneficiaries. The current drive, she added, is to ensure that every lecturer secures at least one research grant annually, aided by improved funding now raised to N5 million per project.

“So, this is a fully packed workshop that marks a key moment in our shared commitment to advancing research excellence, particularly in the fight against sickle cell disease, which remains a public health challenge, not only in Nigeria but across Sub-Saharan Africa.

“We at the University of Abuja are proud to collaborate with the National Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training, and we’re equally proud to be affiliated with the PACTS programme under the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

“Generally, institutional research capacity is not just a strategic necessity but a public health obligation. It empowers our institutions with the knowledge to address critical issues.”

Also speaking, Professor Imelda Bates, Principal Investigator of the PACTS programme at LSTM, emphasised the importance of African institutions owning their research agendas.

She noted that universities must strengthen their internal research systems to define and solve their own public health challenges. She hailed the sickle cell project as a pioneering implementation research model, one that directly engages patients, families, and communities to co-create affordable, culturally relevant, and sustainable solutions.

“It’s absolutely critical that institutions like this university, and others across Sub-Saharan Africa, develop strong research systems so they can choose the research they want to pursue. They need their own researchers to solve their own national problems, rather than having topics dictated by external actors.

“And with global research funding becoming tighter, the money must be used more efficiently to meet real national needs. The sickle cell project is especially exciting because, for the first time, it offers the opportunity to do implementation research, which is new to the entire research team here.”