The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has partnered the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), Baltimore, U.S., on capacity building, research and treatment of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs).
This is to enhance the rate of survival of the health conditions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NCDs are some health conditions that are not mainly caused by an acute infection, but result in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care.
These conditions include cancers, hypertension, heart diseases and other cardiovascular disease, diabetes as well as chronic lung illnesses among others.
Dr Mark Gladwin, Professor and Dean, UMSOM, at a news conference on Monday in Lagos, said that the partnership aimed to improve quality of oncogenic health, care and overall management of NCDs in Nigeria.
Gladwin said that 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).
Dr Taofeek Owonikoko, a Professor of Oncology, UMSOM, said the objective was to build institution to institution partnership in Africa with the goal to advance management of NCDs particularly sickle cell and caner.
According to Owonikoko, Nigeria is one of the African countries with high burden of NCDs, stressing the need for improvement in management of the diseases to increase chances of survival.
He said that a research report estimated an increase of NCDs by 80 per cent between now and 2040 in Africa.
“The whole idea is to build on existing partnership with Nigeria in the area of NCDs research, treatment and capacity development.
“Non-communicable Diseases are fast growing in the low and middle income countries, which Nigeria is one of them.
“For the next 10 years, our goal is to partner with the government, institutions both public and private to see how we can bring our expertise into the country.
“And also, learn from people on ground in terms of the main challenges that we can work together to address for the society,” Owonikoko said.
Speaking, the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, described the partnership as a good development in the right direction.
Adeyemo, who underscored the importance of capacity building, said the partnership would open 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 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 need for capacity building and development of new set of young people who are going to be empowered to do research and as well as for them to see 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 make us to be able to have the benefit of here and there.
“If we have the capacity to 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.(NAN
