Yobe State governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, has pledged the continuous support of the state government for the Biomedical Research and Training Centre in the search for a solution to the rampant cases of kidney disease in the state.
He stated this yesterday in Damaturu when the centre’s founder and director, Prof. Mahmoud Maina Bukar, presented an interim report to the governor.
He said, “This research work is a wake-up call on the government and people of the state, and we are committed to getting to its logical conclusion”.
According to him, “We are committed to seeing the end of this menace no matter how much it will cost to save the people.”
The founder/director of the centre said 50 specialists from across the world were involved in the research.
Mahmoud said the BioRTC is currently hosting local and international participants in the Computational Neuroscience of the fifth Summer School of the centre.
Mahmoud, who is also the governor’s honorary special adviser on Research and Innovation, said research was conducted on 2,000 samples drawn from the Bade and Damaturu local government areas.
He explained that the initial result indicated high-risk cases among fishermen in the Bade council.
Prof. Mahmoud commended Governor Buni for sponsoring the largest state-funded disease research project in Africa.
He said the second phase of the research would provide a more in-depth understanding of the causes of the disease.
The director expressed optimism that the collaboration between the Research Centre with international Research institutes across the World would provide the required results to tackle the menace of Kidney disease in the state.
In his response, Prof. Miguel Marravel, Deputy Head of School, Life Science, University of Sussex, commended Governor Buni for investing in research and training.
He assured that, as international partners, they would support the Yobe research centre in finding a solution to the state’s kidney disease.
