Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy Tasks Govt, Stakeholders on Research Funding
- Set to induct six
Martins Ifijeh
The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy has called on government and the private sector to give priority to research and development of pharmaceutical and health sciences in the country, as failure to do this could spell disaster for a developing country like Nigeria.
Stating this in a release to announce the induction of six distinguished professionals into its Academy, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Caleb University, Prof. Fola Tayo, said funding of research by government was poor while the private sector hardly sees the need to fund research, adding that the only way by which better remedies can be discovered or developed for ailments that afflict mankind, including those, like malaria that are particularly endemic in Africa and kill millions annually, was by research and development.
“The Academy is therefore driving advocacy to raise awareness in this area in order to prod government to better fund research and scientific education in general, as well as encourage wealthy individuals and charitable foundations to sponsor scientific research.”
Tayo, who is the General Secretary of the Academy, said the investiture, which is billed to hold September 15th in Lagos, would aim to assess progress so far made regarding the Pharmacy degree curriculum reviews currently ongoing across Faculties of Pharmacy in Nigerian universities.
“Globally, the curriculum for Pharmacy training is rapidly evolving in response to the growing needs of the larger society and we want to ensure that this is happening at the right pace in Nigeria too, such that the health and wellbeing of Nigerians can continue to be impacted optimally by Nigeria’s pharmacists working in tandem with other health professionals.”
He said the new inductees into the Academy, all have sterling profiles and have distinguished themselves over the years, in different spheres of professional life. “We are very confident that they will add real value to our quest to positively impact the health and wellbeing of Nigerians, not only through robust training of pharmacists and pharmaceutical and health scientists but also through research and research-oriented learning and development.”
He said the high point of the investiture will be a feature presentation by Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade, who he said would ignite robust self-appraisal in the profession with his lecture, as he will examine the place of Pharmacy in the enhancement of quality and accessibility of healthcare in Nigeria.
