Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has teamed up with the University of Maryland School of Medicine to improve research, treatment, and capacity building for chronic diseases in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Dr Mark Gladwin, Professor and Dean, UMSOM, at a news conference on Monday in Lagos, said that the partnership aimed to improve the quality of oncogenic health, care and overall management of NCDs in Nigeria.
Gladwin said ‘’ the partnership, over the next 10 years, would not only explore opportunities for collaboration in the area of NCDs management but would also enhance capacity development.’’
According to him, the collaboration will cut across health institutions including the LUTH, Lagos College of Medicine and Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN).
About NCDs
Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are a group of health conditions that are not primarily caused by acute infections. Unlike infectious diseases, NCDs often develop gradually and have a long-lasting impact on health. They frequently require ongoing management and treatment.
Common types of NCDs are
- Cancers
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Heart diseases and other cardiovascular conditions
- Diabetes
- Chronic lung diseases
These conditions significantly impact the quality of life and life expectancy of affected individuals and pose a substantial burden on healthcare systems worldwide.
What they said
Dr Taofeek Owonikoko, a Professor of Oncology, at UMSOM, said the objective was to build institution-to-institution partnerships in Africa with the goal of advancing the management of NCDs, particularly sickle cell and cancer.
According to Owonikoko, Nigeria is one of the African countries with a high burden of NCDs, stressing the need for improvement in the management of the diseases to increase the chances of survival.
He said that a research report estimated an increase of NCDs by 80% between now and 2040 in Africa
“The whole idea is to build on an existing partnership with Nigeria in the area of NCDs research, treatment and capacity development. Non-communicable Diseases are fast growing in low and middle-income countries, and Nigeria is one of them.
For the next 10 years, our goal is to partner with the government, and institutions both public and private to see how we can bring our expertise into the country.
And also, learn from people on the ground in terms of the main challenges that we can work together to address for the society,” Owonikoko said.
New opportunities in Nigeria
The Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, said the partnership would open an opportunity for the hospital to develop capacity in many areas and thereby increase the chances of sustaining medical professionals in the country.
According to him, the Federal Government has invested a lot of money in putting up infrastructure facilities in the health institutions, but there are not enough personnel to man most of the facilities.
Adeyemo lamented that many medical personnel had left the country to practise abroad, which he said, was affecting the operation of the hospital.
“The UMSOM is here to collaborate with LUTH in terms of implementation research in the area of Non-communicable diseases management like sickle cell and cancer as well as capacity building.
“In line with the hospital’s mandates as a teaching hospital, there is a need for capacity building and development of a new set of young people who are going to be empowered to do research and as well as for them to see a reason to stay in the country to practice.
“The Federal Government is investing a lot of money in putting up infrastructure facilities in the health Institutions, but there are not enough personnel to man most of the facilities.
“But with research collaboration of this kind; it will open up opportunities to develop ourselves in many areas.
“For myself in the last few years; the reason why some of us are still practising in the country is because we develop some capacity that actually makes us to be able to have the benefit of here and there.
“If we can collaborate with institutions all over the world in the UK, U.S. and Australia, we will develop ourselves in so many areas.
“With past experiences, we realised that the more we have people coming into the country to develop our capacity, the more the chance that our younger ones will stay.
“We are going to maintain sickle cell and cancer management.
“In the next few weeks, LUTH is going to do the first transplant for sickle cell in Nigeria and definitely, that will need a lot of support from those who have the experience,” Adeyemo said
