The Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja, has launched a strategic collaboration 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 strengthen research on sickle cell disease across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The announcement was made during a workshop themed “Strengthening Institutional Research Capacity and Safeguarding,” hosted by NCESRTA in partnership with the Patient-centered Sickle Cell Disease Management in Sub-Saharan Africa (PACTS) and LSTM.
Research as a Public Health Imperative
Speaking at the event, Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Patricia Lar, represented by Prof. Obiageli E. Nnodu, Director of the university’s Centre for Sponsored Projects, highlighted the institution’s growing focus on research capacity as both a strategic necessity and a public health obligation.
She noted a dramatic rise in institutional research engagement, with faculty grant beneficiaries increasing from five to over 55 in recent years. The university now aims to support every academic staff member in securing at least one research grant annually, with funding per project raised to N5 million.
“This workshop marks a pivotal step in our shared mission to advance research excellence, especially in tackling sickle cell disease, which remains a major public health challenge across Sub-Saharan Africa,” Prof. Lar said.
Empowering African Institutions to Lead Research
In her remarks, Prof. Imelda Bates, Principal Investigator of the PACTS programme at LSTM, stressed the importance of African institutions owning and directing their research agendas.
“It’s absolutely critical that institutions like this university define the research questions they want to answer. They must solve national problems using their own knowledge systems, rather than relying on externally dictated topics,” she said.
Prof. Bates lauded the sickle cell project as a pioneering implementation research model that places patients, families, and communities at the centre of solution development. She also noted the increasing importance of efficient resource utilisation, given shrinking global research funding.
“This is the first time the team is engaging in implementation research—a model that is affordable, culturally relevant, and sustainable.”
The partnership is expected to build a robust institutional research system that not only addresses sickle cell disease but also serves as a model for other health-related challenges across Africa.
