The Vice-Chancellor of Chrisland University, Prof. Chinedum Peace Babalola, on Wednesday said that Nigerian professionals, researchers and universities are collaborating towards producing indigenous vaccines to combat the dreaded coronavirus.

Prof. Babalola revealed this while speaking at the Intensive Virtual Conference organised by Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAPHARM) in partnership with Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE), which was monitored by CEOAFRICA.

The conference, which spans for 6 days, had the theme: “COVID-19: Facts, Myths and Way Forward.”  

Babalola, who is a Professor of Pharmaceutical chemistry and Pharmacokinetics, while speaking on the topic: “Roles of Professionals, Research Institutes and Universities in COVID-19”, described the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as “an unprecedented crisis which overloaded the hospital systems and health infrastructure and caused death of millions, job loss and hunger.”

She added that the impacts of the pandemic had contributed to the global economic hardship and recession with over $28 trillion lost.

The erudite Professor further stated that “A critical lesson that Africa has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is the need to invest in and build its own capacity and capabilities for manufacturing of vaccines and medicines.”

She disclosed that the Nigerian Government, in its efforts of providing indigenous vaccines, approved N7.5b for 2020 TETFund Research, noting that “This money is for buildings, infrastructures, establishment of new institutions for covid-19 research.”

Babalola further revealed that with the TETFUND intervention grant, efforts are made in the identification of potentially effective local therapies “to screen and identify chemical compounds, including medicinal plants that can be repurposed or used to prevent and/or treat COVID-19 in Nigeria; investigate toxicological and safety evaluations for hits (compounds/herbal remedies) active against COVID-19; and perform preclinical testing and validation for potential therapies identified in our screen for COVID-19.”

Among the identified African Plants with antiviral and immnunomodulatory properties against COVID are mango, cassava, cashew, ginger, garlic, onions, alligator pepper, bitter kola and pawpaw, Babalola highlighted.  

The African Union Laureate affirmed that the roles of professionals, research institutes and universities in combating COVID-19 are “Literature evaluation to sift validated information from the tonnes of junk circulating especially in social media; produce factual literature on the pandemic; continuous education of clients; show public example (in churches, mosques, schools, weddings etc) of the COVID-19 protocols; promote good policies of government; advice governments on possible way forward; enforce protocols in their practice premises; identify research gaps/agenda as they emerge; hunt/apply for research grants targeted at expanding the frontiers of knowledge about the pandemic; build new infrastructure and update old ones for COVID-19 research; build critical human capacity for cutting edge research about the pandemic, and encourage knowledge sharing on the pandemic”

The Vice-Chancellor of Chrisland University stressed that in the knowledge economy era, universities are vital in the innovation system for contributing to the economic development of a nation through activities such as developing skilled human capital, transferring knowledge and technology to industry, and becoming the seedbed of new enterprises.

“This indicates that university roles in knowledge and technology innovation tend to become more diverse beyond its traditional missions of a teaching, research, and service to industry,” she said.

The first female Professor of Pharmacy in University of Ibadan recommended that professionals especially in the health sector are to work more harmoniously so as to sustain what has been achieved over time.

Babalola, while appreciating the roles of Tetfund and CBN, urged the government to continue to support research in order to catch up with developed nations, thus, producing Nigerian made vaccines and/or drugs against COVID-19.

Present at the event are  Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, President of NAPHARM; Mr. Isah Mustapha, President of NGE, and other keynote speakers such as Prof. Moji Adeyeye, Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC); Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Pharm. Clare Omatseye, Managing Director/CEO at JNC International (JNCI), Dr. Reuben Abati, Media Consultant and former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, and Professor of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka, Ike Uzochuckwu.

Panelists at the event which include: Dr Obi Adigwe, Director General/CEO of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD); Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi, former CEO of NCDC; Dr. Mike Omotosho, President of Hepatitis Zero Nigerian Commission; Folasade Lawal, Managing Director of Victory Drug, were chaired Dr. Faisal Shuaibu, the Executive Director/CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and moderated by Olumide Akintayo, former President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN).