By Aluta News
June 4, 2023
The Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) says its new multipurpose campus will continue to promote evidence-based research.
The Chief Executive Officer of IHVN, Nigeria, Dr Patrick Dakum, said this in Abuja while announcing activities to mark the official inauguration of the institute’s state-of-the-art multi-campus of excellence.
He said the inauguration of the campus would boost healthcare and treatment training as well as research, adding it would bring quality health services within the reach of Nigerians.
“This time around, we’re taking the standards very seriously and therefore for us here, everything that we do is to meet global standards.
“We are becoming convinced day by day that the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 3, which focuses on having healthy communities, can only be achieved with effective global and local partnerships, and this campus seeks to promote this as its contribution to these efforts in Nigeria and beyond,” he said.
Prof. Alash’le Abimiku, Executive Director of the International Research Center of Excellence, IHVN, said Nigeria can combat diseases if it has multidisciplinary resources, institutions and facilities dedicated to providing excellent healthcare delivery services.
Abimiku said that for over 19 years since the institute’s establishment as a non-profit and non-governmental organisation, it had addressed the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country by developing infrastructure for treatment, care, prevention and support for people living with HIV/AIDS.
“We have, over time, expanded our services to cover other communicable and non-communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, cancer, COVID-19, and other emerging diseases,” she said.
According to her, the research the institute does must inform better management of diseases and populations.
“That is, first of all, we have to understand the peculiarities of these diseases within our population and then do research to really inform better management,” she said.
She said that the Clinical Trial Unit was also important in the introduction of drugs and vaccines to a population.
“So whether it’s an HIV vaccine, or whether it’s COVID-19 vaccine, or whether it’s drugs, we can conduct clinical trials that specifically says in our population, this is how it works.
“And this is an adverse effect and this is what we have observed and our reports go back to the policy makers and to the government.,” she said.
Also speaking, Dr Charles Olalekan Mensah, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, IHVN, said that the inauguration of the IHVN Campus would revolutionise the fight against emerging infectious and non-infectious diseases.
Mensah said that IHVN had provided support to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV through treatment care and support, empowerment of healthcare workers and equipping and strengthening of laboratory capacity in-country.
He said the institute had increased access to and utilisation of basic nutrition services by pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls and children under five in nine local government areas of Kano State
IHVN, he added, was also involved in curbing gender-based violence and providing support for orphans and vulnerable children.
The IHVN Campus, located in the Cadastral Zone of Abuja, is a combination of leasable office buildings, clinical laboratories for diagnosis, research, and training and functional clinic spaces for patient care
The inauguration, which would take place on Tuesday, would be preceded by a scientific seminar on addressing local health challenges through quality research and partnership.
The seminar would bring together key scientists and public-private stakeholders in the health sector.
They include Prof. Robert Gallo, Director, Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, USA; and Dr Ifedayo Adetifa, Director General of Nigerian Center for Disease Control as the main speakersas well as Abimiku.
NAN