The Director General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), Prof. Usman Malami Aliyu, has expressed optimism that by 2027, the Institute will have competent researchers that can conduct home-grown clinical trials and also partner with sister agencies to facilitate the production of drugs that can fight cancer in Africa and in Nigeria, in particular.
He stated this while declaring open a five-day training for selected staff of NICRAT on research and grant management in Abuja.
The training was organized by the department of Research and Innovation (RI) with the aim of strengthening capacity building and enhancing research knowledge among NICRAT staff.
While urging the participants to take the training seriously considering that Nigerians are eagerly expecting to see innovations in cancer research, Prof. Malami said: “By the end of next year, we should have competent hands that can conduct research from start to finish, conduct clinical trials and probably in synergy with some other sister agencies to produce promising drugs that can combat the problem of cancer in Africa and in the country all with the aim of having a better outcome in the area of prevention and treatment.”
He declared as unacceptable the insignificant number of clinical trials in the area of cancer in the African continent, lamenting that: “There are so many problems in the various cancers that we have in the country, and the African continent.”
Prof. Malami reiterated the relevance of the training, noting that: “All these lectures are to equip you with the knowledge required to be able to conduct research and apply for grants.
“This is very essential not because of the money component but rather to find home-grown solutions to the home-grown problems that we are currently having in the area of cancer.
“This is part of the reason why the federal government established NICRAT so that it can have an institution that can support and conduct research to see that we come up with those things that are actually making the presentation, the prognosis and the outcome of our cancers. The whole country depends on you.”
He applauded the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government for its keen interest in the fight against cancer and also providing the Institute with the needed support and encouragement.
Earlier, the Head, Research and Innovation department, Dr. Chinyere Okafor, explained that the training program will run throughout 2026 and will take place in the last week of every month focusing on various aspects of the research program.
She revealed that her department is working hard to ensure that by the end of April this year, “we have some grant proposals ready to submit. Some organisations have been asking us for proposals which we are going to submit before April.
According to her, at the end of the training, her department will bring out a grant management group for NICRAT from the trainees, who, she said, will be tasked with the responsibility of managing grants and grants programs implemented by NICRAT.
While applauding the NICRAT DG for the support, she noted that her department targets to secure and implement at least five grants every year.
Also speaking, the Consultant in charge of the training, Prof. Mustapha Umar Imam, commended NICRAT for organizing the training, noting that: “There is no point having staff of NICRAT which is an agency that is supposed to oversee activities related to cancer research but don’t have basic skills on how to conduct research.
“So, the basic idea is to cover as many areas as possible that will equip the participants with basic skills as possible that will help them in the area of cancer research.”
The training, he stressed, “will not only cover how to do research but also seek grants. “For you to be able to write a research proposal that will enable you to get grants, you must have some basic skills.”
