Health
PROF. Souleymane Mboup, Coordinator, West African Network for Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria (WANETAM), says the body will expand its scope beyond poverty-related diseases to emerging and re-emerging diseases in the sub-region.
Mboup said this at the opening of a three-day WANETAM Annual Retreat in Lagos on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that WANETAM was initiated in 2009 by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP).
The body was created to enhance researchers in West Africa on Tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria research and conduct clinical trials through training and capacity building.
Mboup said: “When WANETAM was created, the aim was to target the three major poverty-related diseases which are tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV.
“These targets have been expanded to emerging and re-emerging diseases like non-communicable disease, Ebola and others that are peculiar to West African countries.
“So, the priorities at the beginning are different from what we have now and the spectrum is broader than what it was before.’’
The coordinator said they would create opportunity for the different groups in WANETAM to present their activities, exchange ideas and plan for the nearest future.
He noted that the network would continue to a platform for scientists across the Sub-region where scientists could work together.
“The essence of this meeting is to assess what we have done previously; plan for the next step and how to sustain what we have been able to achieve in the various research activities.
“WANETAM is a network of 16 West-Africa institutions and four European countries. Over 600 scientists have benefited from our programme in one way or the other,’’ Mboup said.
Speaking also, Prof. Babatunde Salako, the Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research and the host of the WANETAM retreat, said the institute was one of the pioneers that founded the body.
Salako, represented by Prof. Olaoluwa Akinwale, Deputy Director-General of NIMR, said the institute had benefited from the network through training and exchange programmes over the years.
NAN
24th January, 2024
C.E
Tags: EDCTP Prof. Babatunde Salako Prof. Olaoluwa Akinwale Prof. Souleymane Mboup WANETAM
