ACEPHAP Wins Four Research Project Grants
Story by Bala G. Abdullahi
Bayero University’s Africa Centre of Excellence for Population Health and Policy has recently won four different research project grants from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and 54Gene Corporation.
This was disclosed by the Director of the Centre, Professor Hadiza Galadanci during a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor, Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas on Tuesday 30th March, 2021.
She told the Vice Chancellor that the Centre had earlier won $553,054 E-MOTIVE Research Project Grants from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct E-MOTIVE Trial in collaboration with University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Professor Galadanci explained that the E-MOTIVE trial which stands for “ Early detection of postpartum haemorrhage and treatment using the World Health Organization MOTIVE First response bundle: a cluster randomised trial with health economic analysis and mixed methods evaluation, is aimed at preventing maternal deaths by implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) prevention and treatment guideline for Postpartum Haemorrhage. It is being implemented in five countries of Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
The Director explained that while the project was being implemented the Centre won yet another three new grants from Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) on Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), IVON trial grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria and COGENOME Study obtained from 54Gene Corporation.
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Grant was obtained through collaborative efforts with 5 other Universities in Nigeria from TETFund to explore the factors associated with sudden cardiac arrest in Nigeria.
The IVON trial project is to conduct an open label, randomized controlled trial of intravenous versus oral iron deficiency anaemia in pregnant Nigerian women (IVON). The project is aimed at contributing to the reduction of the significant burden of maternal morbidity and mortality associated with anaemia in pregnancy.
The third grant was COGENOME Study obtained from 54Gene Corporation. She explained that the aim of the study is to conduct a gene wide study on spirometry values among people with COPD using a case control study design. The pilot phase would include 100 participants diagnosed with COPD and control participants without COPD while the full study would involve 1,900 participants diagnosed with COPD and 1,900 control patients without COPD.
The Director presented a letter to the Vice Chancellor from the World Bank informing the University that the second Africa Higher Education Centre of Excellence for Development Impact has been declared effective and that the Centre was one of those declared effective having met all the project effectiveness condition.
She told the Vice Chancellor that one of the major problem the Centre was facing was the none release of the first tranche of funds from the world bank ACE Impact grant project, saying that the Centre has to take a loan from the University to continue to carry out its activities including the training of the regional postgraduate students now under going full academic activities.
Professor Galadanci stated that the Centre is appealing to the Vice Chancellor for more loans from the University to enable it carry out its activities pending the release of its funds.
Responding, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas said the University was not surprised by the level of achievements recorded by the Centre within this short period of time, adding ‘these tremendous successes gladdened all members of the Bayero University family.’ He reiterated the University’s total commitment to support the centre at all times to achieve its goals and objectives.
