By Felix Khanoba
The National Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training (NCESTRA), based at the University of Abuja (UniAbuuja) has commenced a 12-week (18th -September -27th November 2025) training programme for healthcare workers on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) clinical trials.
Speaking at the opening session on Thursday at UniAbuuja , the Centre’s Director, Professor Obiageli Nnodu, explained that the programme, sponsored by IQVIA in collaboration with Bio Ventures for Global Health, is designed to leverage Nigeria’s high burden of the disease to advance innovative research and scientific solutions.
“We have often said that if you’re able to manage sickle cell disease, we have facilities to manage it, then you can also do almost every other disease, because it is a disease that has complications, lifelong complications, from infancy to adulthood. And these complications involve almost every organ and system in the body,” she said.
According to her, NCESTRA has, over the past eight years, benefitted from a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) infrastructure grant under the Sickle Pan-African Research Consortium.
This she said has enabled the creation of a registry of nearly 40,000 patients across six African countries, with Nigeria contributing more than 10,500.
“What are we offering to these patients? We are now having innovative treatments, novel treatments for sickle cell disease. And we even have some not so new ones, like hydroxyurea, which is not being used as commonly as we ought to. So we want to make sure that all the physicians, all the healthcare workers who are looking after these patients with sickle cell disease are prepared to participate in the trial of these novel treatments,” the erudite scholar said.
Prof. Nnodu noted that the training also ties into activities marking Sickle Cell Awareness Month in September and aims to prepare health workers to engage in new therapies.
“We should help to bring the solution to the problem of sickle cell disease in the world. The other point is that what we are doing is in keeping with health policies within the region, both by WHO and also by our national authorities,” she added.
The hybrid course, which attracted hundreds of participants from institutions across Nigeria and abroad, according to the NCESTRA Director, would be delivered through two weeks of in-person workshops, followed by 10 weeks of online sessions every Thursday evening.
On his part, Dr. Beno Nyam Yakubu, Head of Clinical Trials at the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), praised the initiative.
“We are delighted that we are part of this, meeting our stakeholders. And again, as an agency, we are committed to improving,” he said.
Yakubu, who is the Head of Clinical Trials at NAFDAC, said “the main function of the agency is to make sure that all the drugs that are used in this country are of good quality, safe and efficacious. So again, our own regulatory conduct of clinical trials in Nigeria is very, very crucial.
“We want to see all clinical trials that come to this country meet the best standard globally. And again, based on that, I think NAFDAC has undergone some global benchmarking through the region,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Dr. Kwaku Marfo of IQVIA, who serves as Africa Market Development Specialist for Research and Development Solutions in the organisation, commended Prof. Nnodu and the Centre for the sponsorship opportunity.
He said IQVIA as a a clinical research organization has been operating on the continent for over 30 years to help in providing solutions to some major diseases.
“Sickle cell disease really have a significant prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa. We are seeing emerging innovative therapies coming to market, including potential curative therapies like gene therapy.
“And secondly, building capacity and engaging with stakeholders like yourself to ensure that we can play a pivotal role in bringing these innovations to patients will be critical,” he said.
Day one of the programme featured presentations from leading scholars within Nigeria and abroad, with some joining virtually.
