Tuesday, November 16, 2010
[size=14pt]US awards $130m medical education grant to five Nigerian universities[/size]

Tunde Odesola, Ibadan


The United States National Institute of Health has awarded $130m medical education partnership grant to the University of Ibadan and five other universities.





http://odili.net/news/source/2010/nov/16/805.html


Vice-Chancellor of UI, Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, said that the other universities in the partnership include the University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, University of Jos, University of Maiduguri and Ahmadu Bello University.

Addressing a news conference on the campus of the university on Monday, Bamiro said the partnership was aimed at opening fresh frontiers in the field of HIV/AIDS research.

According to him, the grant was an acknowledgement of United States' consistency towards improving humanity, stressing that the choice of the university as a centre to drive the grant was laudable.

A statement by the Registrar of UI, Mrs. Omotayo Ikotun, explained that the grant, which is code-named "Medical Education Partnership Initiative", would witness the disbursement of $130m among Nigerian universities within the next five years.

The statement said, "The University of Ibadan is to lead some other Nigerian universities to benefit from an investment of $130m largely funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to expand and enhance medical education and research training in the field of HIV/AIDS.

"The public health relevance of this award is that the challenges facing the Nigerian medical education system like decayed infrastructure, misplaced priorities and inadequate resources responsible for a dearth of research capacity of students and faculty will be addressed."

Bamiro explained that the scourge of HIV/AIDS was prevalent among youths because many of them were impressionable and incapable of using their freedom appropriately.

He said the improved medical education system and capacity from this programme would be transferred to other medical schools in the country through the National Universities Commission.

"UI will be leading a consortium of six Nigerian universities and partnering with two US universities to implement programmes towards improvement and strengthening of medical education system in Nigeria," Bamiro said.

Why no Ife I'm partial to that university

Asking the same question here: why no Great Ife?

Why Jos and Maiduguri? ABU and Nsukka I understand.

Una broses, e b like say una don turn old school for nigerian settings o!

Yes, Ife is deserving by stature. But by geopolitical arrangements, none of d recipient schools is less deserving in d field of medicine.

In fact, by my ratings, jos is d most influential in medicine among dos situated in middle belt. In north, apart from ABU, sokoto, kano and maiduguri r peers.

What of Benin? Is she less deserving?

Does it matter. If they like, they can give all the grant to University of Akoko Ado, I don't care as long as it is used judiciously.

Aloy+Emeka:

Does it matter. If they like, they can give all the grant to University of Akoko Ado, I don't care as long as it is used judiciously.

I'm with on that, people are just oblivious to the essence of the initiative.

I thought LUTH was a top Medical school in Nigeria

DapoBear:

Why no Ife I'm partial to that university

Best University in Nigeria by a margin

I hope it is not cash Christmas is next month o!